Eros and Thanatos
by aomelovespuppy
Summary: The forces that drive our impulses towards life and death. While some of us spend our lives looking for love and redemption, others go in the opposite direction, seeking only death and destruction. AU. He was avoiding love, she was avoiding sex. After a fight over ramen they discovered an attraction as powerful and inescapable as nothing they had felt before.
1. Chapter 1 Meeting

Hey there. I hope you like this crazy story. It started like some light funny piece and as I continued writing it turned into something darker. It is also a little more mature in its content and also I think the characters too.  
In this AU, demons and humans coexist peacefully in the modern era.

 **Disclaimer** : All the characters belong to the talented Rumiko Takahashi.

 **Warning** : If you don´t enjoy mature content or are not over 18, please don´t read this fic.

 **Chapter 1- Meeting**

 **"** _You_ **did it."**

 **The man snapped at her, his deep raspy voice sending shivers up and down her spine. The broadness of his shoulders towering above her forced the petite girl to take a few backward steps in an attempt to escape his furious glare.**

 **"I didn´t do anything to upset you. I don´t think your attitude is justified."**

 **Her breath uneven and her legs shaking, Kagome couldn't think of any words that would pacify him. Tilting her head up to get a better look at his face, the girl was surrounded by his magnetic aura. Her eyes roamed the handsome features, the molten gold of his eyes, the set of his clean-shaven and defined jaw, his straight nose and high cheekbones, all the way to his lips. Kagome looked down, she had to swallow a lump that was making breathing a difficult task. This man, or demon, was a fine specimen, she thought. Her eyes were now focused on his chest, drinking in the firm muscles clearly standing under the fabric of his red buttondown.**

 **The proximity of his body was wreaking havoc on her nerves. Kagome hadn't been this close to a man for a long time, with the exception of Hojo, which wasn´t nearly as intimidating. Despite her better judgment, her body seemed to be drawn to him, she could feel it reacting to his presence like the tides to the moon. She had been guarding herself against such feelings, avoiding intimacy and running away from dangerously attractive men in fear of what might become of her almost non-existing ego. She wasn´t so naive as to deny his allure, she knew the symptoms and her natural response was fear.**

 **Kagome took a deep breath trying to get a grip on the growing anxiety before the man could realize the effect he had on her.**

 **"What do you want?" Her voice was quivering, failing to convey the composure she hoped to achieve soon.**

 **The girl kept talking, much to his displeasure. He was used to intimidating people, just one look at him and many humans would piss themselves, and some demons too. And this woman was reeking of fear, so much so that it covered other scents arising from her slender body, preventing his nose from doing its job.**

 **"Shut up! I need to make sure."**

 **Inuyasha spoke through gritted teeth while his body kept moving forward until he finally got the girl cornered against the wall.**

 **It was already past office hours, the building was almost empty, the cubicles on their floor already deserted. Even if she screamed, there was nobody around to hear her. And if there were, no one would dare confront him.**

 **Placing one hand on each side of her body, Inuyasha lowered his head and took another whiff of her scent getting a rush from the mixture of fragrances flowing from her.**

 **"It was you!"**

 **He spoke slowly, his gruff voice booming in the small breakroom causing the girl´s coffee-colored orbs to bulge out in shock.**

 **"Me? What did I do?" She asked trying hard to remember what she could possibly have done to enrage him like this.**

 **She looked very confused. Inuyasha thought for a moment that he could be wrong, the girl seemed so innocent.**

 _"She´s cute,"_ **He thought, looking past the round frame of her glasses. His eyes left her face to take in her whole appearance.** _"Why does she dress like a nun though?"_ **His gaze roamed her body from the tip of her black flats, up the length of her slender legs, over the black knee-long skirt and lingering for a moment over the whitish fabric of her Victorian blouse that loosely covered her breasts.**

 _"They aren´t too big, I could probably fit them in my hands."_ **His mind took him down a more pleasurable train of thought.**

 **As if pulled by a magnet, his hands moved down to place themselves on her hips while he reduced the already small space between their bodies.**

 **"You smell of ramen." He spoke with a husky voice and he was so close that the girl could feel the vibration of the sound echoing on her chest. Something awoke inside of her in response to his deep voice. Her fear gave way to confusion first and then it turned into something entirely different, she was losing the battle against herself.**

 **" Ramen?" She asked, confusion plain in her words.**

 **"Mhm." He hummed in response.**

 **Inuyasha didn´t want to speak anymore. He could smell the change in her scent, the overpowering odor of fear had been replaced and now he could smell... arousal? Could it be? Or did he just smell what he wanted it to be? Something in this woman connected to his basic instincts, taking his ability to form a coherent sentence away from him.**

 **He nuzzled her neck and was able to see her pulse beating erratically. He tried to find her eyes, but she had closed them, her breathing as uneven as his, her breasts rising with each intake of air and then lowering back.**

 **His gaze focused on her slightly parted full lips, the faint smell of food still lingering in her mouth.**

 **"There´s only one way to know for sure." He said seconds before he traced the outline of her mouth with his tongue in a sensual slow motion.**

 **Kagome´s eyes shot open in shock.**

 _"This isn´t happening!"_ **She thought.** _"It´s so wrong."_

 **She couldn´t think anymore as the feeling of his tongue sliding over her lips erased everything else from her mind. She tried to resist him, pressing her mouth shut until one of his hands moved from her hip to her chin, tilting her head up. She met his scorching stare with one defiant look.**

 **"Just relax for a moment. I want to taste you."**

 **Once again, the tone of his voice melted her resolve, Kagome found herself obeying the silver-haired man as his skillful lips commanded hers to open for him. Closing her eyes and surrounding his neck with her arms, the girl melted against his body as he assaulted her mouth, his tongue savoring every corner and curling against her own.**

 **Inuyasha´s blood boiled when he felt the way her body reacted to his. He pressed one knee between her thighs in order to make her spread her legs, his rapidly growing member pressing against her lower belly.**

 _"She´s so small."_ **He thought, a heatwave running up his spine as he imagined the numerous ways to could maneuver her lithe form.** _"Wait till I get you to bed."_

 _He moved his left hand from her hip to her waist, almost surrounding it completely while lifting her so that his aching manhood could be nestled against her pelvis, groaning against her lips when he felt her legs around his hips as she eagerly ground her core against him, her hot breath welcoming him._

 _The hand that had been cupping her chin moved to tangle in her wavy black hair, loosening the tie of her ponytail and forcing Kagome´s head back to expose her neck. Leaving her lips vacant for a moment, Inuyasha´s tongue licked and nibbled the creamy skin, his ears twitching when a persistent buzzing sound overshadowed the delightful sounds the girl made, suddenly bringing him back to reality._

 _Inuyasha let go of the girl and turned around. He had to take several deep breaths before he dared to answer the phone._

 _"What took you so long? I´ve been waiting for your call for hours!"_

 _Kagome could hear the person on the other side of the line almost screaming while Inuyasha could only growl in response._

 _The girl had to lean on the wall for support, thankful for the respite, a few more seconds and kami only knew what could have happened between her and the sulking stranger. Taking a long cleansing breath, she combed her hair with her hands and tried to smooth her clothes._

 _"Yeah, I know. I was planning to stay late today but I´m starving." He looked over his shoulder to check on her. "Some stupid new girl ate my ramen. You know I can´t work on an empty stomach."_

 _"Hey!" Kagome felt insulted. If she hadn´t suspected it when he declared she tasted of ramen, now she was sure, he was the owner of the ramen she had eaten. All this fuss over a simple bowl of ramen?_

 _"I... I... didn´t know it was yours." She stuttered. "I´m sorry, I´ll buy you two cups next week, how does it sound?"_

 _Inuyasha frowned at her over his shoulder and turned back again, noticing his pants were still too tight in certain parts of his body._

 _"Yeah, that´s her." A few moments of silence on his part followed. Apparently, the other person was speaking in a lower voice since she couldn´t hear anything other than the demon´s voice._

 _"Short, thin, wavy black hair."_

 _Kagome was feeling more uncomfortable with the conversation as the seconds passed. She wanted to leave but his body was blocking her way._

 _"You know her?" He turned around now that some parts of him had relaxed just in time to grab the girl´s wrist as she tried to make a run for the door._

 _"Oi, your name´s Kagome?"_

 _The girl didn´t answer, her discomfiture too heavy to look him in the eye._

 _"Is it?"_

 _She just nodded her head and looked at her feet, she could feel the warmth spreading from her cheeks down to her neck. She hadn´t felt this embarrassed since high school._

 _"You´re joking!" He said to the person on the other side of the phone. "Really?"_

 _He turned away from her without releasing her wrist. Kagome wanted to disappear from the face of the earth, shame washing over her in huge waves. Never in her life had she done anything so shocking, always getting good grades, obeying her elders and playing by the rules. She had taken the ramen believing someone had forgotten it there, or maybe they weren´t so hungry or didn´t need to eat it today. She had bought some melon bread for breakfast and thought that she could make it through the day with just that on her stomach. Drinking coffee or water every time her stomach growled had proved ineffective. By lunchtime, not only her stomach but also her head ached terribly. She was almost done for the day when she went to the break room for another glass of water and saw the ramen cup standing there. She just went for it. Payday was only a couple of days away and she had just enough money for the train fare and a couple of meals. She was planning on replacing the ramen cup after she got paid but now that she had been discovered she felt like she had committed a hideous crime. To top it all and as the cherry on top the dreadful desert that had been her day, she had a steaming make-out session with a stranger, a demon, apparently, a hot long-haired and ill-tempered youkai._

 _"And you think she can do it?" The voice of said demon interrupted her self-deprecating thoughts. "I´ll talk to her and get back to you. You take good care of Sango."_

 _"Sango?" Kagome´s attention was back to him, the wallowing left for later. "Were you talking to Miroku by any chance?"_

 _Inuyasha let go of her wrist and put his phone in the back pocket of his black slackers._

 _"You know her too?" He asked still trying to figure out this girl. According to Miroku, she was one of the best seller telemarketers in their department. His exact words had been, "Layers of sweetness covering the toughness inside". All he had tasted was pure fire, hidden under layers of oversized clothes._

 _"She´s my best friend. I got this job thanks to her, or rather thanks to her fiancé. But she was the one that asked him to help me in the first place." She stopped for a moment intrigued by the outcome of the phone call. "I take it you and Miroku are close. What does he want me to do for you?"_

 _"Oh, just a little help with a presentation. I can´t work anymore today, thanks to you."]_

 _"Ok, I already said I´m sorry. I didn´t know it was yours, I just assumed everybody had already eaten and the ramen was leftover. I told you I´d pay you back, you just have to wait until payday."_

 _"Can´t you pay for your own ramen? Why did you take mine?" Inuyasha was now interested to know why she had taken his food, there has to be a reason, or she just acted on impulses?_

 _"It´s not like it had your name on it." She said looking a bit angry. "By the way, what is it?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"Your name! What´s your name? You already know mine, I think it´s only fair after, you know..." Kagome was too embarrassed to even mention what had just happened between them. She was blushing a deep shade of crimson which made Inuyasha smile, she looked prettier when she blushed, he thought._

 _"Oh, it´s Inuyasha, Takahashi Inuyasha, nice to meet you." He said with a wide grin that showcased his fangs, his hand already grabbing hers in a warm handshake._

 _"Higurashi Kagome." The girl said bowing politely. "Nice to meet you too."_

 _"Well, Kagome, what do you say we go eat something since our work for the day is done. I need to talk to you about that presentation."_

 _"I can´t."_

 _Her voice was a slightly high pitched, he noticed. Was she freaking out over a meal?_

 _"Why? Are you afraid I might eat you?" He had intended it as a joke, but the hungry look he gave her implied something different. He realized he hadn´t let go of her hand so he released it with a small sigh._

 _"I can´t afford it." She said, looking at her feet, too flustered to look him in the eye. She wanted to be honest without letting him know too much._

 _"So that´s why you stole my ramen." He said feigning to be affronted._

 _"For the last time, I´m sorry. Will you please forgive my offense?" She was exaggerating her apology or mocking him, he wasn´t sure._

 _"Only if you come to dinner with me." He hesitated for a second. "It´s not like it´s a date, it´s just a business meeting at the ramen shop next block. After all, if you can help me with my presentation, I´ll be owing you. And there´s a big bonus if we succeed. What do you say?"_

 _She pretended to think about it for a moment, but her mind was already made, the irrational part of her brain had decided for her. The offer of a bonus was too tempting to just pass the opportunity, she wanted to go with him, she simply didn´t want to look too eager._

 _"Ok then. Let me grab my purse and we can leave."_

 _"I´ll go get my stuff, meet me at the front door."_

 _Inuyasha followed her with his eyes as she disappeared among the cubicles hypnotized by the sway of her hips. After what had happened before Miroku´s interruption he would be having a hard time focusing on the topic at hand when the only thing in his mind was getting another taste of that perfect little mouth._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _A/N: Let´s see if I can finally get it right. The format of this site has been bothering me forever and I´m trying to get it right while correcting some issues that went unnoticed when I first posted it._

 _As always, thank you so much for your support. Any comment, follow or favorite is much appreciated._

 _Love,_

 _ALP_


	2. Chapter 2 Looking back

Hello again, thank you for reading my ramblings. I said in the first chapter the story beguna with something that was funny in my mind, Inuyasha and Kagome fighting over food and making out in the end. But as I kept on writing it become something darker. Here is when the darkness begins.

I don´t believe the angst is too strong, but keep in mind the I have warned you

DISCLAIMER: All the charachters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

2- Looking back

Kagome waited at the front door of the office building as Inuyasha had instructed. She had a nice view from there, it was getting late and most of the skyscrapers had their lights on while the sky was painted pink and purple by the receding twilight. She knew the gorgeous colors were just a byproduct of pollution but she just decided to ignore that fact and enjoy nature´s performance. It was almost springtime, soon the cherry trees would be blooming and the city would be covered in pink.

The thought of pink cherry trees managed to bring a smile to her lips and she welcomed the little moment of solace. Lately, all she could think about were problems. Her mother left alone to run the shrine while her Jii-chan recovered in hospital and her little brother struggling to pay his tuition at Kyoto University, where he had decided to attend to become a marine biologist.

If money and the health of her family weren´t enough problems, she had to add her romantic life to list. Not that it was problematic per sei, it was just plain and dull.

After a disastrous relationship with a wolf youkai, her pride and self-confidence had taken a major blow. She had met Kouga when she was a freshman at Tokio University, she was still a virgin and quite naive back then. He was a senior, as well as a popular athlete. Kouga was always surrounded by women, so she had loved the fact that he had set his eyes on her, she should have suspected then that he wasn´t going to remain faithful. However, she fell for his smooth talk and his sex appeal, she had been too eager to explore her blooming sexuality but after their first time together she only got frustrated and dissatisfied. Kagome had been too shy to bring up the subject to her lover, but every succeeding hurried encounter left her with a fouler taste in her mouth.

Nonetheless, she wasn´t a quitter and she had her mind set on mastering the sexual experience. A few months later she found out Kouga was cheating on her with several women, when she confronted him he claimed she was a lousy fuck and he needed the other women to satisfy his needs.

That had been the last nail that sealed the coffin of her sex life. She had cried for days, mourning the loss of her relationship, her innocence and any hope of ever trusting a man with her body ever again. Since that day, whatever needs she may have she trusted only herself to satisfy them, and that was only after making sure it couldn´t be ignored any longer.

Kagome had managed to collect the pieces of her shattered heart focusing on graduating college, only to find out later that she couldn´t rely on painting to make a decent living, she needed a job to pay the rent. Bottom line, she had to let go of her dreams and become a productive member of society.

Meaningless job succeeded by meaningless job before Kagome realized the only place where she was comfortable was on the phone. Her dear friend Sango, whose fiancé was a sales representative with SNT, had been able to get her an interview and here she was now, saving every penny she could to help her family.

Her whole life was lacking, especially in the love department, but Kagome didn´t mind. Sex only meant pain and disappointment to her, it had nothing to do with love or even pleasure.

After being reunited with the boy she had a crush on high school, they started seeing each other and had reached an agreement, they would go out on dates, spend time together and with each other´s family and if by the time they reached 30 they were still in this platonic relationship they would marry each other. Sango suspected Hojo was gay but too afraid to come out of the closet, Kagome didn´t want to believe that. Whatever the reason Hojo had for accepting that deal, Kagome knew she could trust the sweet guy to fulfill his part in it.

Sexual attraction was something she had vowed long ago to never again give in to. What had happened between her and Inuyasha today only served to remind her how dangerous it could be. It had only been a mishap, that was all, It wouldn´t happen again, she would make sure.

Sitting at his desk while shutting down his computer, Inuyasha pondered on his meeting with Kagome Higurashi. The nagging sensation he was trying to neglect was too powerful and exciting to just ignore it.

It had been a while since he had felt so strong a pull towards a woman, not since Kikyo.

 _"Kikyo."_ he thought to himself.

As usual, he was enveloped in a shroud of sadness when he thought about Kikyo. She was younger than Kagome at the time they met, yet she had never responded with such honest passion to his advances. She was beautiful, serene and kind, which had him head over heels for her. Her stepfather, Onigumo Ikeda was a senior partner at SNT while Inuyasha´s brother, Sesshomaru, was the CEO and major shareholder. According to his brother, their match was very convenient, for Inuyasha it was a chance at the happiness he had seen only in his dreams.

In the beginning, Kikyo seemed happy just to be close to Inuyasha always smiling brightly when she saw him. Inuyasha had been so smitten he didn´t notice the change in her demeanor when they started dating. Their first time together had been awkward but he didn´t delve into it. He had thought she was shy and needed time to get to know him. But as their relationship developed into something more serious he noticed that the woman couldn´t stand his touch. She was sweet and affectionate but unable to enjoy the intimacy he relished.

All that changed one new moon night, when he finally entrusted her with his best-kept secret. She had been fascinated, unable to keep from touching him. That wonderful night they had made love frantically, she shed her inhibitions and fully embraced her sexuality with him. Inuyasha had been so happy, at last, his relationship with Kikyo was blossoming. That was the confirmation he needed before proposing to her. After a lifetime of loneliness, Inuyasha wanted a family of his own. He was just a toddler when his parents died, all he had left was a half-brother that hated his guts and tried his best to avoid him. Naturally, when the opportunity to love and be loved by a beautiful woman presented itself, Inuyasha held on to it with both hands.

Sadly, his happiness only lasted one night. The next time he tried to make love to her, she was back to her frigid old self, unreceptive and barely tolerating his passionate embrace. The following new moon he was able to confirm it, the woman he so desperately loved could only enjoy sex with him on his human form. When he tried to break up with her she just begged him to stay with her until she could accept his youkai heritage. Her upbringing as the descendant of a long line of Shinto mikos had prejudiced her against demons, that was all. She confessed it would not be easy to overcome, she only needed some time.

Kikyo´s family had her life planned for her but she had never wanted to be a priestess, she only wished to have a normal life. Unfortunately, not many humans wanted to tie their family´s destiny to hers.

The daughter of a young maiden that abandoned the life at the shrine while single and pregnant after being disowned by her parents. Her mother had a happy life as a common woman, away from the duties of a miko. When Kikyo´s father died leaving her with a teenage daughter and pregnant once again, she found comfort in the arms of Onigumo Ikeda. The man became the father figure the girls needed and remained in charge of them after their mother´s demise. Kikyo´s grandparents had wanted both their grandchildren to come back to the shrine and train to become mikos, Kaede conceded but Kikyo refused. She stayed with her stepfather against her grandparent´s will. She knew her chances of meeting eligible men were slim but she took the risk. She had been a loner until Inuyasha came along. Kikyo´s history was no secret to him, and being an outcast like her, he was more than willing to try to have a normal life with the young woman.

A couple of months went by, things hadn´t changed much between them when Kikyo told him the news, she was pregnant, they needed to be married soon. Inuyasha was beaming with joy, all thoughts of a frigid partner took a back seat to becoming a father.

His dreams of a happy family came crashing down shortly after their engagement was announced. Kikyo was visiting her sister to tell her the good news when she had a miscarriage. Inuyasha wanted to go to her but she didn´t want him around, the consequences had been far too great. Her body was too weak to carry his hybrid child, her uterus had to be removed along with the fetus in order to save her life. Inuyasha ached to be by her side, comforting her would help ease their shared pain. Kikyo thought different, in her mind, Inuyasha had ruined her life, she didn´t want to see him nor hear from him.

Inuyasha sighed heavily. He had let his mind wander off without realizing it, that _"kiss"_ he shared with Kagome had affected him more than he had expected.

It´s not like he hadn´t dated after Kikyo. He wasn´t a womanizer but he had slept with his fair share of women, both human and demon, never allowing any of them into his heart, love was nothing but suffering, he had learned the hard way. He was no longer the young naive hanyou who was desperate for human contact. His heart had been crushed after Kikyo, now he just took what life had to offer and moved on. Even though they both wanted to avoid each other, he still had to see Kikyo often at work, they had to be civil towards each other whenever their paths crossed.

Kikyo again, why did his mind go down that road. He hadn´t thought about their past in a long time. Kagome had reminded him of her, he had to admit. Physically, they looked like they could be sisters. In spite of Kagome covering her body, he could tell it was as curvy as Kikyo´s. They also shared the same eyes and hair color, only Kagome´s hair was wild and wavy. Kagome was also younger and a little shorter than Kikyo. And after just one taste of her lips, Inuyasha could tell she would be a passionate lover, he had felt her yearning with desire under his touch.

"That´s the main difference." He said out loud.

Kikyo had always been cool and aloof while Kagome was like a contained fire, he suspected, if he could tear down her barriers chances are they might be hot as blazes together.

Inuyasha heaved a deep sigh. First things first, he needed to convince Kagome that she could lend a helping hand to their project. He had promised Kikyo he would help Onigumo´s project. He could never refuse her; after all, he still felt in debt with her.

Grabbing his messenger bag, he tossed his laptop inside and headed to the elevator. He didn´t want to keep the woman waiting, she had already shown signs of being feisty, he wouldn´t risk maddening her now that he had set his mind on winning her over.

 _"Only for this project."_ He reminded himself. _"Nothing else."_ He had to keep that in mind.


	3. Chapter 3 The Ramen Shop

Hello again! I´m glad you keep bearing with me. Sorry for the long delays, I try to post at least twice a month but there are months too busy for me and I just can´t make it on time. I´ll try to keep that goal for the future chapters. Thank you so much for your patience, I hope you enjoy this one.

DISCLAIMER: The characters of Inuyasha belong to our dear Rumiko Takahashi, I don´t own anything, sadly.

The small restaurant was almost deserted when the pair arrived. Being located in the heart of the financial district meant business hours were the same as the offices surrounding it. Inuyasha and Kagome arrived only a few minutes before closing time and were the last customers. A few other people were seated at the bar and there was a couple occupying one table, leaving them with plenty of tables to choose.

On their way to the restaurant, both of them had remained silent with Kagome struggling to keep up with Inuyasha´s powerful long strides. Now that they were seating and their eyes were leveled, Kagome found that looking into his golden eyes she could get lost, the honey hue of his irises reminded her of the heat of the sun. She decided it was safer to avoid his gaze.

After their orders were taken, and they both had their respective glasses of cold green tea, Inuyasha decided it was time to break the ice.

"So, how long have you been working with us?" He actually was curious. If they were working in the same building, he should have seen her before, or at least noticed her wonderful scent.

"It´s not been too long. Next week it´ll be my third month." She answered daring to look into his eyes for a moment, only to turn her eyes back to her hands in her lap immediately afterward.

"Oh, just three months?" He said taking a gulp of his tea. "Probably that´s why I hadn´t bumped into you before. I hadn´t been on the sales floor in a while."

"You don´t work on my floor?" Kagome asked reaching for her glass and sipping her tea.

"No, I´m on the tenth floor."

Their order arrived at that precise moment. Inuyasha´s nose twitched at the delicious smell of ramen. He ordered two more bowls before the kitchen closed, making Kagome gape at him with her mouth open in shock.

"You can´t eat all that! Look at the size of the bowls," She pointed to the bowls to illustrate her point. "I´m sure I´ll have trouble just finishing mine!"

"Then I´ll eat whatever is left of your bowl too." He grinned at her, fangs glistening under the neon lights.

By the time the rest of their meal arrived, Inuyasha was relieved to see her coming out of her shell. He kept talking between mouthfuls of noodles.

"How do you like your job so far?" It wasn´t just curiosity, he was also trying to decide whether she could be of any help or not.

"It´s ok I guess. I can´t complain. Customers are usually very friendly and the people I work with have been kind to me. I thought that working in an equal opportunity company there would be more youkais around, though."

"You have something against youkais?" Even when the girl looked at ease with him now, he remembered her smell when he confronted her in the coffee break room.

"Oh, no. It´s not that." She answered fast, not wanting to give him the wrong idea.

"But you were afraid in the breakroom, weren´t you?" He slurped his ramen after that, never breaking eye contact.

Kagome had to look down again. The power of his stare had her looking back down every few minutes.

"That´s not because..." she started to speak but was afraid to reveal too much about herself. "It wasn´t you that I was afraid of, it was... the situation."

Inuyasha could sense her nervousness and decided to address the issue once and for good.

"Keh, just forget about that. It´s not like I would ever try it again. You don´t have to fear me."

For a brief moment, Kagome felt relieved, but then her old insecurities come back to haunt her. Was she so repulsive that he didn´t want to touch her ever again?

"I told you I don´t! Now that I´m here sitting with you, can´t you tell I´m not afraid?" The young woman wanted to make it clear to him.

"Yeah. But that may be because I´m only half-youkai, I´m a hanyo."

"Really?" She was really surprised about that fact, Inuyasha could tell from the other side of the table. "Are you half neko? Or maybe half kitsune?" Her eyes shone with an inquisitive gleam, she had never met a hanyo before, they were extremely rare.

"What? No! Look at the ears." He signaled to his ears with the hand holding the sticks while twisting them around for emphasis. "I´m half inu."

Kagome couldn´t help giggling as he kept moving his fluffy ears around. Her hands itched to touch them, she thought they were the most adorable thing ever.

Noticing the blush creeping up her neck, the girl looked away and decided to focus on something other than his cute furry ears.

"If you´re not on sales, then what do you do in the company? If you don´t mind my asking"

"I work on software development," he said before digging into his third bowl. "I couldn´t work on sales. I´m no good interacting with people."

"Yet, here we are." She moved her right hand from her to him and back to her. "You have something against humans?" She twisted his previous question around.

"Keh, I don´t mind them. It´s them that don´t like me. Most humans are afraid of me, others just despise me for being a half-demon. And don´t even mention youkais, they are worse yet."

Inuyasha didn´t notice he had been scowling until he saw the smile fading from her lips.

"Anyway, I was only there today to cover for Miroku. He had to take care of your friend and there wasn´t anybody else available"

"What happened to Sango?" Concern for her friend suddenly come forth overshadowing all the other topics on her mind.

Noticing her distress, Inuyasha answered swiftly.

"Oh, nothing serious, don´t worry. Just a sprained ankle, I think. Probably during some kinky sex game."

Kagome blushed profusely at the mention of sex, Inuyasha noticed. "Maybe she´s a virgin." He thought. "She can´t even hear the word mentioned without turning into a tomato." He decided the to change the subject once again.

"So, did you major in marketing?" He asked and watched fascinated the confusion on her face when she looked up into his eyes.

"Pardon me?" She was still worried about Sango´s health. She had to call her friend as soon as she got home. Brow furrowed and rosy-cheeked, Kagome stared into those gorgeous whiskey colored orbs.

"I was wondering what makes you such a good salesperson." Inuyasha grinned at her, satisfied to see her return his smile.

"Oh! No, I majored in arts. But it doesn´t seem to pay enough for the rent, so I had to look for something else. I tried many different jobs before this one."

"And what makes this one so special? I mean, there are a lot of creeps calling, don´t you get tired of it?" He had heard so many crazy stories from Miroku, like guys breathing heavily on the line or old people rambling on and on about their younger years.

"I think I just feel comfortable behind the phone. I´m sure I couldn´t do so good if I had to face the customers."

He knew what she was talking about. It was the same reason he had chosen to work with computers, it was way easier than working with other people, or demons.

Inuyasha put down his last bowl of ramen. He hadn´t noticed he had been staring at her for a long time.

"Oh, dear kami. This girl´s got me drooling. Get it together man!" Inuyasha thought while he wiped his chin an reminded himself they were here to talk business.

"Let me tell you about that presentation." He blurted out.

"Yes, please. What product are you selling?"

"Well, we are not selling anything at the moment. I´m working on an encryption program for Ikeda Labs, a partner of SNT. They are trying to get funds for a project they are working on."

Inuyasha made a pause to make sure Kagome knew what he was talking about. She had heard about the lab and Doctor Onigumo Ikeda, she also knew he was an important shareholder.

"What is the project about?"

"I can´t really tell you the specifics yet, just that it´s revolutionary and might save millions of lives, according to Onigumo Ikeda, head of the lab. What we need you to do is help us get the board´s approval and the funds necessary for the research. What do you think?"

Kagome remained silent for a moment while Inuyasha got the check. She had heard rumors about Onigumo and they were not very flattering. What kind of research was the doctor conducting? She had her reservations about this job but she needed the money urgently.

"And what about the pay?" She asked straightforward.

"Well, just to help me and Miroku out you´ll get a month´s salary. And if we succeed, three times that."

Inuyasha saw her eyes brighten while she made the math in her head. The girl needed money badly.

He signed the waiter for the check and Kagome rose to leave while he was paying.

"Let´s go get my car and I´ll drive you home."

"That´s not necessary, I can take the train."

"No need. You´re under my care now. We will be working after office hours, so I will be seeing you get home safe."

Inuyasha spoke in a matter of fact voice that left no room for discussions. Kagome was a little uncomfortable but she also knew he had a point. It was rather late and her neighborhood wasn´t the nicest in Tokyo.

They walked together to the parking lot Inuyasha adjusting his longer strides to hers so that they were side by side.

"You haven´t given me an answer, what do you say? Are you in?" He said as they reached the basement of their building, where Inuyasha had left his car.

"I´m not sure. Can I think about it just for tonight?"

Kagome was planning on googling Doctor Ikeda before she could make a decision.

Inuyasha stopped when they reached a red car, a red Prius to be precise.

"Is this your car?"

"Yeah, why?" He asked as she looked at it with a grin on her face. "Red is my color, in case you haven´t noticed yet." He used both his hands to point to his red shirt.

"It´s not the color, it´s just... Did you buy on purpose or is just a coincidence?" She kept smiling and Inuyasha was smiling back, overwhelmed by the contagious serenity that surrounded her. It felt natural to just talk and smile to each other.

"It´s a hybrid!" She remarked, both hands pointing to the vehicle for emphasis, afraid that the irony went over his head.

"I know that!" He couldn´t stop grinning now. "It wasn´t on purpose, I just care about the environment." He opened the passenger door for her and closed after she was comfortably seating inside before dashing to the driver´s door.

"Let me tell you something," He started as he fastened his seatbelt, "I can´t remember much about my father, but he was a formidable daiyoukai and I was told that he fought hard to protect the western lands. He protected the forests and all the creatures living in his territory. He was devastated when the woods were cut down to make room for civilization. If he had lived to see what we are doing to the world, I´m sure he would die again of pure sadness."

He spoke confidently as he maneuvered the car to leave the building and join the traffic on Tokyo´s streets. Kagome was mesmerized by his deep voice, he seemed so proud of his father. Also, while he focused his attention on driving, she could focus hers on his profile.

"Where do you live?" He asked, taking her out of her reverie. Kagome gave him directions and they were soon on their way.

"Do you miss your father?" The sudden question made him turn to face her for a brief while.

"I was a baby when he died. I hardly remember him."

"I´m so sorry." She offered sincerely. " My father died when I was 10 and I miss him terribly. We all do, especially my younger brother Souta. He was only two at the moment. It was hard for him, even with my grandfather around."

"Keh, he is lucky, the only family I have is my older half-brother and he just hates my guts."

This was the strangest thing, Inuyasha thought. Whenever the subject of his family arose, he would just avoid it or just leave. But with this girl he didn´t even stop to think, he opened his mouth and his thoughts flew out before he could stop himself.

Kagome was going to ask him about his mother when she noticed they were arriving at their destination.

"It´s right there, next to the grocery store." She was a little self-conscious about the neighborhood, she looked around from the pile of garbage in the corner to the graffitied walls of her building and then to Inuyasha. To her relief, he was looking right at her, oblivious of the landscape outside.

"So, here we are." He said to break the silence. "Listen, I don´t mean to pressure you, but I´ll need an answer tomorrow."

"Fine," Kagome said fumbling with her seatbelt buckle. "Tomorrow morning, I promise."

Her hands seemed unable to release the damn thing. She was trying to see what she was doing wrong when she found clawed fingers gently moving her hand and releasing her from the belt. She looked up and was face to face with the golden-eyed half-demon, her heart again running wild in her chest.

Inuyasha could notice the change in her heart rhythm, his sensitive ears focusing on the hypnotizing sound and his nose detecting the subtle change in her scent. His own heart seemed to be running a race against hers for the sound of it.

His fingers gingerly wrapped around hers, Inuyasha lifted Kagome´s hands and placed on his chest, above the frantic beating of his heart.

For a moment they both remained frozen in place, like deer in the headlights, unable to escape the intensity of their feelings, their eyes locked into each other´s gaze. Kagome was the first to react, trying to remove her hand from his but feeling cold afterward, she replaced her hand on top of his.

Without even realizing what she was doing, her body leaned closer to Inuyasha´s, her lips looking for his in a soft, hesitant kiss he didn´t falter to respond. In a few seconds, the timid brushing of their lips gained intensity when their mouths opened and their tongues searched and rubbed against each other. Very soon soft mewling sounds and heavy breathing was all Inuyasha´s ear detected.

In spite of the very uncomfortable position, the hanyo managed to attract the girl´s body as close to his as possible with one arm around her shoulders and the hand of the other cupping her cheek, his thumb caressing her cheek while his fingers tried to keep her glasses in place.

Inuyasha could almost hear the rush of the blood in his veins, the delirious feeling just made him want more. Kagome heard the satisfied rumbling sound he made while his fangs gently nipped on her lower lip and couldn´t avoid the mewling sound that escaped her lips.

When they finally broke apart, Kagome was hit by a sudden wave of guilt.

"Kagome..." Inuyasha was not sure of her reaction but was more than willing to explore this new development with her. He just didn´t know what to say, words were not his strong suit.

"I´m so sorry...I shouldn´t have... I can´t..." Kagome was stuttering again at the same time that she squirmed out of Inuyasha´s embrace and opened the car door.

Standing on wobbly legs, she made her way to the front door of her building as quickly as possible, all the time ignoring the voice of the hanyou that called her name from the sidewalk.


	4. Chapter 4 Bullied

Hello, hello! Sorry to keep you waiting. It´s been a very busy month. Thank you so much for putting up with me. Here´s another fluffy chapter before the real drama begins. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I just borrowed them for my story.

4 Bullied

Kagome left the kombini and looked at her watch, she needed to rush to get to work on time. After a horrible, almost sleepless night, being late was the last thing she needed.

She had left Inuyasha standing outside his car and calling her name, her limbs shaking after her own bold move. What had possessed her to do such a thing? She couldn´t tell. All she knew was that Inuyasha´s presence affected her in some weird way, turning her into a different person, someone she didn´t recognize. And it frightened her. Like a child lost in a labyrinth, she was paralyzed, unable to choose a direction to follow.

Panicked, she had run away without looking back.

The first thing she did once in the comfort of her apartment, was to take a shower and change into her pajamas. Then she made herself some tea to help soothe her nerves before daring to dial Sango´s number. Only after making sure that nothing serious had happened to her friend, Kagome was able to finally relax. She didn´t mention what had happened with the hanyo to her friend, she still needed to process it herself before talking about it with anyone else.

Trying to leave aside the tumultuous feelings she had experienced, Kagome focused on the job offer. It was a tremendous opportunity, she couldn´t let it pass without weighing its pros and cons. Before she could make a list, she would google this Dr. Ikeda.

The internet didn´t offer any significant information about him, only what Inuyasha had told her. He was an illustrious scientist and a shareholder in SNT and that he had a stepdaughter about Kagome´s age who often attended meetings in his representation.

Still having ambivalent feelings about the offer, the young girl went to bed exhausted and disheartened. Sleep eluded her for some time but when she was finally able to drowse off the events that took place in the breakroom replayed in her dreams. She would wake up hot and wet, her frustrated body demanding what it craved.

With the first rays of light, she decided to get up and take a much-needed shower. She was drying her hair when the telephone rang. Hearing her mother´s voice made her smile at the device until she noticed the worried tone in Mrs. Higurashi´s voice because her daughter had failed to call her the night before. After reassuring her mother that everything was fine, Kagome let the familiar soft cadence in the older woman´s words sink in. Her mother had the ability to make her feel better no matter what problem she was facing. Kagome´s mind was made right there. She would do whatever it took to help her family, any misgivings she had about working with Inuyasha or helping a creepy scientist were pushed to the back of her mind.

Now that the decision was made she felt lighter. She decided to stop at the convenience store outside the train station and buy some ramen to pay the one she had taken the day before. Guilt was what had made it impossible for her to rest last night, she convinced herself, it had nothing to do with the passionate silver haired half demon she had just met, it didn't!

Panting and sweating, she ran up the stairs of the SNT building to get to her floor. The elevator had been too crowded so instead of waiting for the next one, she opted to use the stairs. She arrived at her cubicle only a couple of minutes late, out of breath, and with a few strands of her jet-black hair sticking to her damp forehead.

"I must look a mess," she thought, "but at least I made it unnoticed."

"Higurashi!" A female voice sounded at her back making the little hairs at the nape of her head stand. "You are late." The demoness spoke in a sickeningly soft voice emphasizing every word, like she was disgusted just talking to her. "Come to my office, and bring your belongings with you, please."

"Oh, crap!" Kagome cursed internally as she got up to follow her boss. She had the felling Miss Sakasagami didn´t like her for some reason, and Kagome had tried as best as she could to avoid crossing her.

"Sakasagami-sama, I´m sorry I´m late. I´ll stay later today to make up for the time..."

"That won´t be necessary." The older woman interrupted her. "Maybe you think that the rules don´t apply to you, being the top seller in this department, but it is my responsibility to ensure that the rules are followed without exceptions."

Kagome felt dizzy hearing her speech, she was sure nothing good would come out of this.

"You seem to think you are special, just let me make it clear, no one has privileges here." The youkai surveyed Kagome up and down scrunching her nose at her polyester pants suit, her arms folded over the cleavage of a tight-fitting black and red dress and the toe of her left black pumps clicking on the hardwood floor. "So sad, such a pretty girl and you don´t even care to groom yourself. Just look at your hair, all messed up. Such a waste."

Kagome was in shock, unable to follow her boss's mumbling. She just couldn´t catch a break. No way she was going to accept defeat that easily, she was ready to stand up to her boss.

"Listen, miss Sakasagami, I know I should take better care of my appearance, but I had to run in order to get here on time..."

"On time?" Once again, the demon woman cut right in the middle of Kagome´s sentence. " You should be able to get up early enough to come here earlier and better looking than that."

How dare she? Getting told off for being late was one thing but making fun of her appearance was a totally different story. Kagome was fuming, she had to take a deep breath before speaking or she was sure she would snap at her boss. Pushing the slipping frame of her glasses up the bridge of her nose, Kagome stepped forward.

"I´ll take a moment to fix my hair before going back to my desk. I apologize for..."

"I´m afraid we´ll have to let you go."

Another interruption. "This youkai sure is rude," Kagome noticed. "And I´m not taking shit from her." She needed her job desperately, but she refused to let it show in front of this arrogant demoness.

"I´m so sorry Miss Sakasagami, it won´t happen again." Kagome spoke in a firm voice while the rest of her body felt exactly the opposite. She felt dizzy and her legs were shaking. "I´ve been working here for a few months now and I had never been late before, nor absent for that matter."

"I know that. It is my job to know what my subordinates do and what they don´t." The demoness gave a step forward and uncrossed her arms. "And you, in spite of your excellent performance, there´s something about you that I just don´t like."

Kagome was now gaping at the woman. How did she rebut that? She could feel her whole body shaking now, exhaustion and anger were a bad combination, she thought.

"Ok, maybe you can give me some pointers, so I can improve..."

"I don´t think so, I´ll make an example out of you. I don´t want to see your sweaty face anymore. HR will have your check ready in a few minutes."

Sakasagami-sama turned around and sat at her desk leaving the speechless girl standing in the middle of her office. Kagome was frozen in place, one hand to her temple trying to stop the whirlwind that had trapped her while her brain fought to come up with some intelligent words. Unfortunately, the room kept spinning around her, her boss only a smudged picture in front of her. Just when she thought nothing could make the situation worse, the door opened, and the blurry figure of a white-haired demon met her eyes. Squinting to try to get a better view of him, Kagome was once again surprised when she heard her boss falter in her speech.

"Mr. Takahashi..."

"It can´t be him!" The young woman told herself. "What is he doing here?"

She wanted to voice her questions out loud but at that moment everything turned black and she felt herself falling into a void, her body limp and her mind numb.

Yura gave out a surprised yelp which reminded Inuyasha of a scared chihuahua. The hanyo wasted no time acknowledging her, his body reacted before he could think, catching the fragile form of Kagome as she collapsed, preventing her from hitting the floor while her glasses fell down her nose and bounced between him and the demoness and splintered in what seemed like a million pieces.

"Inuyasha!"

The youkai tried to draw his attention to her, outraged at being ignored in favor of a weak human girl.

"Good thing you caught her, she could have sued us if she got hurt."

Inuyasha couldn´t avert his eyes from Kagome´s pale face. She looked so young without the glasses and the dark circles under her eyes were more visible now. He lifted the almost weightless girl and hugged her close to his chest, one arm under her legs and the other around her shoulders to make her head rest on his own. As he moved her body, Kagome´s hand released its grip on her purse and the bags she was carrying fell to the floor with a loud crashing noise.

"What happened here?" He spoke in a calm voice, still not looking at Yura.

"The young lady you are carrying was late for work and looking like that on top of it. It was just what I needed to confirm my decision to fire her."

Yura´s lowered brow and wrinkled nose made Inuyasha think of a chihuahua once more, a pissed off one.

"You won´t fire her, from now on Miss Higurashi will be working with me." He was about to leave when he turned around and using his nose pointed to the instant ramen bowls in the bags that had dropped from Kagome´s hands. "And those are mine too, I´ll send someone to get them."

When the elevator´s doors closed and Inuyasha was alone with his precious cargo he was finally able to indulge his craving and took a whiff of Kagome´s scent, closing his eyes to savor it better.

"Kami, she smells so damn good." He spoke to himself fearing that his voice may wake her.

He couldn´t help the smile that came to his lips nor the urgency to press a kiss to her forehead. The girl looked so fragile and beautiful at the moment, it made the natural protective instinct of his race surge in his chest. It was a good thing that she was wearing pants today, had she worn a skirt and he had his hand on the skin of her legs, he was sure he would be focusing on some other feelings.

Inuyasha wanted nothing more than kissing her lips, but he would have to wait for her to wake up, in the meantime, he was content with nuzzling her cheek and breathing her sweet scent. It was like a balm to his senses, just breathing her scent the frustration he had been feeling since the previous night evaporated into thin air.

After he took her home and she kissed him in the car and run away, he had a really hard time trying to relax, not to mention getting almost no sleep at all. He had woken up grumpier than usual, unable to concentrate on his work. But now that he got to rescue Kagome from Yura´s torment, he could feel his mood change again, but this time he was smiling.

He got to his office in no time and reluctantly laid the young woman on the gray couch on the left side of the spacious room, kneeling down beside it. His eyes roamed her delicate features once again while his knuckles tenderly traced her cheek before finally getting up and moving behind his desk. The hanyo picked up the phone and dialed one of the few numbers he knew by heart.

"Shippo? Have you had breakfast already?" He waited a few seconds for the answer and continued. "Ok, I want you to stop by the coffee shop and buy breakfast for two. Fruits, bread, orange juice, coffee, anything you think can be included in a healthy meal." He was going to hang up when he thought of something else. "And bring some tea too, just in case."

The half-demon sat at his desk and let out a sigh. He had just met the woman the day before and already he felt strong emotions stirring inside him. Something new, unfamiliar and quite unsettling, he decided. It could be dangerous to let these new feelings take over him, he would have to tighten the rein on his self-control if he was going to work with her.

Giving the raven-haired girl one last longing glance, Inuyasha tried to focus on his laptop with little to no success. His eyes kept wandering away to the sleeping beauty on his couch and he was unable to stop them. He was so enthralled with the girl he didn´t even notice the young kitsune also staring at the girl.

"Who´s that girl, Inuyasha? What happened to her?"

"Good, you brought breakfast. This woman will be working here with us starting today." The hanyo was reluctant to give out too much information to the curious teenager.

"And what did you do to her?" The boy kept questioning him.

"I didn't do anything to her. She just passed out. Now quit pestering me and take the breakfast to the conference room."

"Fine!"

Inuyasha picked up the phone from his desk and reached his secretary this time.

"Shiori, I need you to get the first aid kit for me."

He stood up and went back to the couch. The girl was taking too long to come to, she may need to see a doctor. He was about to return to his desk when he saw her eyelids fluttering and he quickly knelt down in her line of vision.

"Kagome? Are you feeling better?"

He couldn´t disguise the concern in his voice, his tone soft aiming to comfort her.

Shiori appeared at that moment with the first aid kit in her hands. The beautiful hanyo girl stood next to him while Kagome´s eyes went from one to the other.

"Inuyasha? Where am I?"


	5. Chapter 5 The Kit

Hello again! Here´s something to prepare you for what´s coming. I can´t wait to finish the next chapter, it´s a smutty one, in case you like that stuff. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

DISCLAIMER: All the characters from Inuyasha belong to the talented Rumiko Takahashi.

5- The kit

Two pairs of eyes were settled on her face, one pair of intense gold, as the midday sun and the other soft as a lavender field. Kagome´s sight traveled from one to the other, both beautiful creatures looking concerned at the moment.

"Where am I?" A look of confusion on her face, Kagome tried to sit to get a better look at the scene in front of her. Inuyasha, still kneeling by her side, grabbed her arm to help her and she shivered from the contact. She looked into his eyes, but he was looking away from her so she couldn´t tell if he noticed her reaction.

Now that she was sitting, Kagome´s head started throbbing painfully as if her body resented the change in her position. The girl scrunched her face in pain while both of her hands massaged her temples trying to soothe the ache.

"Your head is aching?" Inuyasha´s voice couldn´t hide his concern.

"It´s ok, it´s going away already." Kagome could finally meet his eyes and saw him relax a little after her answer.

"I´m taking you to see a doctor." His voice was firm despite the evident dread in his eyes.

"That won't be necessary, thank you. I just need to rest for a while."

"Do you want me to get you some water Miss?"

Kagome´s attention was drawn to the young girl now. Her pale features showing the same concern she had seen in Inuyasha´s eyes. She looked very much like the half demon, only her demeanor was different. She seemed sweet and kind, her aura so unlike the alluring, dangerous vibe she got from Inuyasha.

"That would be nice, thank you." Kagome smiled at her before she moved to a bar on her right. Leaving the little box she had been carrying on top of the bar while the girl bent to open a small fridge and took a bottle of water, she poured the content on a glass on took it back to Kagome.

Inuyasha had stood up from his crouching position in front of the couch and watched as she took little sips from the glass, the color returning slowly to her semblance.

"That would be all for the moment Shiori." He dismissed the young secretary and went back to his desk.

Kagome was even more curious now that she was feeling better.

"Can you please tell me what happened and where are we?"

"You fainted when Yura was bullying you, so I brought you to my office."

"Your office?"

Eyes opened wide, the girl surveyed the room around her.

It was big, bigger than Sakasagami-sama´s office. It faced the west side of the building through floor-to-ceiling windows covered by vertical blinds which allowed plenty of daylight through. Inside, the furniture was in shades of silver and grey and sparse, giving its owner freedom to move around. There was a huge desk on the left side facing the couch she was using and a coffee table between them.

"Is this really your office?" She tried to keep her voice flat, to avoid the rising panic menacing to make her scream. "So, you´re not a simple employee like Miroku or myself."

"Well, I am an employee, just not quite like you."

"You´re some kind of manager or director then?"

"Well, yes. And also, I hold some shares in the company."

"Ok, you´re a partner too." Kagome looked down at her now empty glass, the receding pain threatening to come back. _"Great!"_ She thought _, "as if wasn't bad enough that I made out with a half-demon way out of my league, he has to be rich and powerful to boot."_

The girl stood up then, testing the strength of her legs while grabbing the back of the couch, just in case.

"I suppose you want an answer." She spoke as she scanned the room for her belongings and heading to his desk when she located her handbag there.

"I´d like to hear it."

Just as Inuyasha was bracing himself to fight the negative answer, she surprised him when she spoke softly, a kind smile on her face.

"I´m in."

"Oh... Ok. That´s good." Caught by surprise, he almost stuttered his reply, so he decided to stop talking and just smile back at her.

" I can´t seem to find my glasses, have you seen them around?"

"They fell to the floor and the glass was shattered into a million pieces."

"What? Oh, kami, I can´t catch a break." She sighed. "Well I´d better go to look for the frame, I hope it can still be of use."

"You are going to have breakfast first, then we are going to get you a new pair."

"But I can´t leave until six, I need to go to my cubicle now. Plus, I get terrible headaches if I use the computer without glasses."

"You are not working there anymore, you work for me now. Today all you have to do is replace the broken glasses and then we´re both going to meet Onigumo."

"Dr. Ikeda? Are we meeting him today?"

The hanyo just nodded the affirmative answer and was again surprised by her response.

"We should get going then."

The young woman was grabbing her handbag, her body already moving like it was already recovering. She was turning to the door when Inuyasha got up and caught her wrist.

"First things first, you are going to have breakfast before we leave this office. I don´t want you fainting again."

He was already half dragging her towards another door in the back of the room. When he opened it, Kagome could see a large table surrounded by several chairs and seating at the head of a table with several takeout containers, a young red-haired youkai boy.

Inuyasha stopped suddenly and Kagome almost bumped against his back.

"Shippo, this is Kagome, make sure she has a good breakfast. I have to take care of a few things before we leave." He spoke the last words as he turned to face the girl that was sheepishly standing by his side. "You two have breakfast while I finish."

Inuyasha left closing the door behind her and Kagome just stood there uncertain of what to do next.

"Hello, my name´s Shippo, nice to meet you."

The friendly smile on the boy´s face instantly made Kagome relax, she walked the last steps and sat to the right of the boy while extending her hand in greeting.

"Hello, Shippo, nice to meet you too. I´m Kagome."

The boy took her hand and shook it enthusiastically, a huge grin on his face. "Look, I got everything Inuyasha asked for: fruit, orange juice, some toast, and marmalade; and we didn´t know which you preferred, so I brought you both tea and coffee."

"Wow, you got everything I like, thank you Shippo. I usually have coffee in the morning, but today I´m not feeling so good, I´ll have some fruit and tea, please."

Shippo started fuzzing with the containers until he found what Kagome wanted and placed the fruit in front of her together with a plastic cup. He then put another container in front of himself and opened it producing a large sandwich and a bottle of orange juice which he gulped happily.

"I was waiting for you, Inuyasha said to buy a healthy breakfast for the two of us and watch you while you eat. I suppose he wants to make sure you are well fed."

Kagome swallowed a slice of cantaloupe and looked into his emerald eyes. "So, you always do whatever Inuyasha says. Is he your brother or something?" She couldn´t hide her contempt when the kit spoke of Inuyasha like he was his master.

"Oh, no. We are not related. I just work for him." Shippo didn´t stop chomping on his sandwich while he spoke.

Kagome, on the other hand, was frozen while chewing her fruit, unable to swallow as a sudden wave of anger rose in her throat. "That bastard! Taking advantage of younger youkai like Shippo and that lovely secretary. How could he?"

She forced the fruit down and drank a sip of her tea before continuing the conversation.

"And how long have you been working here? I haven´t seen you before, but then I haven't been on this floor before."

"That´s probably the reason. I´ve been working for Inuyasha ever since my mother died, almost two years ago. My father used to work with Inuyasha´s father when I was a baby. Then they both died, and I only had my mother. Now I have no family left."

"And that´s why you are forced to work for him?" Kagome had to look down to hide the loathing she was beginning to feel towards Inuyasha. Clearly, she couldn´t trust her gut feeling. It had happened with Kouga and now with Inuyasha. The inexplicable attraction she felt towards the hanyo suddenly made her sick. 

"I´ll only be working here a couple months more." The kit kept gobbling on his breakfast without a worry. Kagome thought that it was probably because life had been too harsh on him and he had learned not to show his suffering.

"So, is he firing you? Are you trying to find something better?"

Shippo looked at her in confusion, as if she was asking about the weather on Mars.

"Who? Inuyasha? He wouldn´t fire me, even if he threatened to kill me sometimes, he just likes to talk, but I know he´d never hurt me." He swallowed the last mouthful of sandwich and reached for his bottle. "I´m going to Tokio University next semester. I´ll study software engineering, just like Inuyasha, so I can help him out when I graduate. He got me a scholarship. Well, actually, the company is sponsoring a scholarship for its employees or their children, we only have to work here a few hours every month to apply. Shiori´s got one too, we are both going to start together."

The young woman could almost hear her jaw drop as the young youkai´s hurled his speech completely oblivious of her reaction. Kagome inhaled through her nose while she remained silent for a few moments trying to recompose herself.

"Is Shiori an orphan too?" Kagome thought her embarrassment was showing in her voice, but the boy didn´t seem to notice.

"She still has her mother though. Her father used to work for Inuyasha´s father too, like my father. The three of them died during a fire. Maybe that´s why Inuyasha takes care of us." He was lost in his own thoughts for a couple of seconds before he resumed talking. "And what about you Kagome? How long have you been dating Inuyasha?"

The innocent look on his face told her he wasn´t joking, nonetheless, Kagome almost choked on her tea, spilling most of it on her blouse and trousers.

Shippo handed her some paper napkins to soak some of it but it had already stained. Kagome sighed and smiled at the kid.

"I´m not dating Inuyasha Shippo, I´m just working for him, that´s all."

After cleaning the mess she had made, Kagome sat back down and resumed eating the fruit.

"Shippo, can I ask why did you assume I was Inuyasha´s girlfriend? Do you always bring breakfast for the girls he dates?" She tried to sound casual, only sneaking glances at the boy in front of her.

"Ha! Inuyasha doesn´t date!" He snorted before going on. " Not since Kikyo anyway. I just thought it was about time he got a girlfriend and you just smell like him." The kit took some pastry from another container and gave it a big bite. "Youkai rely on their sense of smell much more than humans, and you definitely smell like Inuyasha." 

"Well, that may be because he carried me when I passed out, don´t you think?"

"It could be, but the smell is not just from today, but is faint, so... maybe from yesterday, like you have been hugging or maybe sleeping together. "

"I did not have sex with him!" The young woman almost screamed, startling Shippo with her sudden outburst. She felt the color extending up her neck, turning her face an intense shade of scarlet.

"I didn´t mean sex, that smells different too, you know?. But you smell like you are comfortable with each other, that´s it." He smiled as if he had reached a brilliant conclusion.

The girl was too mortified to utter a word at the moment. She just realized that if she was working with such sensitive creatures she could kiss her intimacy goodbye.

"Anyway, the scent was stronger now, probably because of what just happened. Everybody was talking about how Inuyasha was carrying a woman around the building.

"When did you have time to listen to gossip?" Kagome tried not to sound offended by his comments.

"Just a few moments ago, when I returned with the breakfast."

He must have noticed the look on Kagome´s face because he continued his rant.

"I wasn´t gossiping, I promise. I just have better hearing than most people realize, they were just talking, I didn´t know who they were talking about. Inuyasha doesn´t like scandals either."

"Don´t worry Shippo, I won´t tell him anything about our conversation."

"Really?" He was visibly relieved to hear her words, Kagome noticed. "Thanks, Kagome, you´re nice, I like you."

"Aww, I like you too Shippo, we should be friends, now that I´ll be working on this floor. I´ll be seeing you more often."

"That´ll be great! You will be working with friends then, that will sure piss Yura off."

"You mean Miss Sakasagami?"

"Oh yeah, I don´t like her at all. I heard she was mean to a lot of people before you and she probably is very angry now that Inuyasha brought you here. She has been flirting with him for a long time, she must have lost it when she smelled his scent on you."

Great, now she knew why her boss hated her guts. And she was now the juiciest piece of gossip around. Kagome put her tea down, she had the feeling she would be having a hard time digesting anything today.

Suddenly, she felt his presence right behind her. It was the strangest thing, she hadn´t heard the door open or his footsteps behind her, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Inuyasha was standing right behind her. The intense pull she was feeling in that direction announced his presence, her body was fully aware of his, a feeling so new and at the same time so familiar.

"Are you two done?" She sighed hearing his voice anchoring confirming his presence and bringing her to reality. Kagome just nodded and stood up.

"I´m ready, let´s go."

"Ok." He was about to turn around to leave the room when he suddenly turned back. "Shippo, I need you to work on sales today. With Miroku still absent and Kagome not working there anymore they´ll need a little help."

"Oh, crap! Do I have to?"

"I´ll make it up to you." The hanyo promised.

Grabbing her handbag from the chair next to her, Kagome made a beeline for the door and was just about to cross it when she turned around to wave at the fox kit.

"Thank you Shippo, it was a good breakfast. I´ll be seeing you around."

"Bye Kagome, t´was nice meeting you."

They smiled fondly at each other before the girl turned around and the half-demon followed her not too far behind her back.


	6. Chapter 6 The Dress

6 The Dress

Hello again. I´m so happy to see that so many people are still putting up with my ramblings. Thank you very much to all of you who have favorited and followed this story.

Just a side note, I don´t know if it´s clear but in case it isn´t, all the italicized words are thought or internal monologues.

And without further ado, here is the smutty chapter I promised. I leave the rest of the notes in the end.

WARNING: Adult content ahead. If you are underage or do not enjoy this kind of reading, please skip this chapter.

DISCALIMER: All the characters from InuYasha belong to our dear Rumiko Takahashi.

6 The Dress

The twinkling light on her cell phone kept calling to her, much to her discomfort. Kagome had been trying to ignore it since the first message arrived:

"Hey, how are you? I haven´t heard from you, I´m worried. Call me."

She had read it an hour ago, followed by a couple more similar ones, but still, she didn´t know how to answer, _"Hi Hojo-kun, I´m fine, I´ve been busy making out with a sexy half-demon who is also my new boss"_ seemed too harsh. Kagome loathed lying, especially to people that she cared about. That was the main reason she had been avoiding answering the text or talking to Sango, or to her mother, more than it was strictly necessary, that is.

"Here you are, miss." The shop attendant brought another pile of dresses, blouses, handbags, and shoes for her to try on, hanging them from the peg on the right wall, the one on the left was still half full of her own outfit and several she still had to try. "These are the ones your boyfriend selected for you."

Kagome cringed when she was left alone. " _My boyfriend? Why does everybody think he´s my boyfriend?"_ She let out the breath she had been holding in a whoosh. _"Meanwhile my real boyfriend is waiting for my call."_

They had left the office hours ago arriving at the mall to get a new pair of glasses, that was what she had thought. Then Inuyasha noticed the stain on her blouse and that was the beginning of her ordeal. Kagome had never been an avid shopper, she just grabbed whatever was for sale on her size, provided it wasn´t too flashy. And here she was, inside an ample, luxurious changing room which had probably been reserved for VIP customers only. It consisted of two adjoining rooms, the smaller room, where she had been trying on outfit after outfit, had a big, comfortable white chair, a large mirror and several pegs on both walls. The other room was a little bigger, it had a small sofa, a coffee table and two doors, one connecting it with the changing room and the other with the grandiose department store Inuyasha had selected for this purpose. The adjacent room was precisely where Inuyasha was sitting while sipping a coffee and browsing through his phone. He had taken off his jacket which was now hanging carelessly from the back of the couch, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the collar of his shirt was unbuttoned.

Heaving a sigh and trying to clear her mind from anything but the task immediately in front of her, Kagome gave a step closer to the mirror, the white carpet absorbing the sound of the high heels she was donning, her gaze fixed on the stranger looking back from her reflection. She was wearing a red dress with an off shoulders neckline and a lace bodice, which was too tight for her, she thought. It clung to her body like a second skin and the skirt above her knees showed too much of her legs. Her body wasn´t the type to wear this kind of clothing, she decided. Her figure wasn´t as voluptuous as Yura´s, for example. Miss Sakasagama would definitely look gorgeous in this. Or Sango, her best friend would totally rock this dress. Sango´s athletic yet curvy body was much better suited to wear such a revealing garment.

Had this happened a few years earlier, the pre-Kouga era, as Sango liked to put it, she wouldn´t have hesitated to try on the more provocative selections. She had been so bold, willing to go to any lengths trying to seduce her man. She had learned her lesson though, nowadays she knew better.

Another sigh escaped her lips before Kagome could prevent it. She was too thin, she reminded herself, she didn´t have the curves to fill the dress, her hair was too wild. Summing it up, she was too plain to get away with this attire. She was terrified to go out and parade it for Inuyasha. Was he trying to make fun of her? Had he chosen this outfit for that reason? What was he thinking?

She took a big breath and squared her shoulders before stepping out of the changing room to face him.

He was looking at his phone´s screen and kept his gaze down for a few seconds. When he finally looked up he had to suck in some air, the girl looked stunning.

"Well, are you happy now? I feel ridiculous in these clothes!"

She was sporting a big frown on her face, hands on her hips to emphasize her discomfort.

It didn´t work.

All it did was highlight her slender waist, rounded hips, shapely legs and her breast, he couldn´t think of a word to describe the perfect plump orbs, his hands were itching to touch them. Her petite figure, which she kept always under layers of oversized clothing, was showcased by the designer dress for his eyes only. Inuyasha had to clear his throat before speaking.

"You look…" _beautiful, gorgeous, breathtaking_ , he couldn´t utter any of the words that came to his mind. "…good." He finally said nodding his head.

"No, I don´t!" She almost shouted. "I can´t wear any of these clothes, they made me look so different."

"What? Are you afraid to show off your good looks?"

The girl just blinked, petrified in her place. Did he mean that?

"Then think of your clothes as a suit of armor. Use them to protect yourself." Inuyasha went on.

"What do you mean?" Kagome looked down trying to figure out what protection could this dress possibly offer, if any.

"Well, most humans, and some demons too tend to judge you by what you look like. If you look like you belong with them it will be much easier for you to blend in, or be accepted as one of the group."

"I don´t think that´s true. I don´t judge people by their looks." The girl was almost offended by his words.

"Maybe you are different but that´s how the world is. Take me for example, I´d love nothing more than to go around barefoot and wearing my old hakama and suikan. But then I would be avoided by humans, and demons alike. This- he took the lapels of his jacket with his fingers and gave a tug- is camouflage."

The girl smiled. She hadn´t thought about his heritage since she met him the day before, for her all creatures were equals. But what Inuyasha was hinting seemed to be too close to home.

"Anyway. I can´t buy these, it´s way too expensive." The girl´s cheeks flushed a light tinge of pink at that.

"The company is paying for it wench." He was getting exasperated with her, what other women would be so upset when she gets a new wardrobe on somebody else´s account? He didn´t get it.

"Don´t call me that!" She pouted and stepped forward. "Ok, I´ll accept some stuff if you let me pay for them monthly."

The hanyo huffed and scratched his head. Buying some new garments did nothing to his wallet, but to Kagome´s economy, it would mean a huge hit. Maybe her pride was more important to her than a few dollars' worth of clothes.

"Fine, if it´s so important to you." He finally conceded and saw her relax her posture, the shadow of a smile playing on her lips.

"Thank you!" Kagome gave a little jump forward, so happy to get her way she forgot for a moment she wasn´t wearing her flats, the sharp pain in her ankle reminding her presently.

"Ouch!" She stumbled forward almost landing on Inuyasha´s arms who was already standing in front of her.

"What are you doing wench?"

"Sorry, I forgot I had these on." She reached down to rub at her ankle while he helped her sit down. "I´m not used to wearing heels."

"Did you hurt your ankle?" Inuyasha kneeled in front of her taking the shoes off and gently massaging her right feet.

The second his skin came in contact with her skin Inuyasha remembered why he had decided to keep enough distance between them. The same electric current that had hit them before ran wild from the tip of his fingers into his bloodstream, turning the vital fluid into blazing lava and inflaming his senses. Their eyes met, their gazes locked, both acknowledging what was going on without speaking. The girl´s heart started to race, he could almost see it hammering through her ribcage as her breathing become more erratic every second that passed. Inuyasha´s fingers hadn´t stop the gentle massaging of her ankle and calf, the thumb drawing circles over the soft skin while he kept running the pads of his fingers up and down the tender area.

Licking her lips and trying to control her breathing, Kagome closed her eyes for a second. She could feel the heat spreading from her legs upwards, she was almost certain the hanyo´s hand would brand her with his touch. She was paralyzed, unable to do anything but feel. And the feeling was so intense she thought she would melt into the couch.

Noticing that the human girl was as eager as him, Inuyasha´s soft caress became bolder, first reaching up to her knee, then spreading Kagome´s legs to make room for himself. Kneeling down between her welcoming legs, the half-demon started raking the claws of both his hands up and down the creamy skin. His sensitive nose was twitching as the scent of their arousal intensified. In the position he was his head was almost leveled with her breast, his eyes fixed on the soft mounds rising and falling with every ragged breath Kagome took. She wasn´t wearing a bra, he was certain now that the hardened peaks poked from under the lace of the dress.

 _"_ _Oh, dear kami!"_

Inuyasha almost growled. He had always been proud of his self-control but when he felt Kagome´s hesitant hands reaching out to touch his ears, it was nearly shattered. He couldn´t get a hold of himself, his body hardening under her ministrations, he just let out a low rumble and reached one hand to the back of her neck, bringing her head closer and finding her mouth already waiting for his.

The kiss had a devastating effect on Kagome´s already overheated senses, her core weeping, drenching her underwear as the hanyo´s tongue mercilessly attacked hers, his fangs nibbling on her bottom lip. She responded to the kiss with a hunger she had never known, her own tongue meeting his thrust after thrust. Suddenly she felt she was falling, she opened her eyes and saw he had dragged her down to the floor. Kagome was now lying on top of his hardened body, legs on either side of his hips while he pressed her down with a hand on her waist and another on the nape of her neck. Whimpering softly in his mouth, she let the hanyo guide her to the position he wanted. She felt his hands started sliding down to cup the round softness of her rump, her pelvic region meeting his hot, hardened masculinity sending bolts of heated lightning up and down her spine.

They both started moving at once as if this was the most natural thing in the world for them. Kagome rocked her hips seeking to scrape the aching need between her legs against his swollen member. Unable to remain still, she moved her hands from his hair to unbutton his shirt, running her blunt nails up and down the hard planes of his chest before pressing hot kisses up and down his face, following the strong line of his jaw until finally returning to his mouth. She heard Inuyasha hissing and almost growling against her lips and smiled

 _"_ _He enjoys being touched like this_!" she congratulated herself.

And she was right, Inuyasha indeed enjoyed her touch, he was nearly panting, and she had barely touched him. Releasing her lips Inuyasha trailed the pulse at her neck with wet hot kisses, sucking her delicate flesh with his lips and then licking it. He kept going down her collarbone until he found the lace covered mounds. Using his jaw, he rolled the fabric down, nibbling and teasing the plump flesh until he finally uncovered the pink hardened nipples he had been so wanting to touch. Letting go of her ass, he devoted both his hands and mouth to worship them while his ears were rewarded by the sound of soft moans and shallow breaths.

Biting her lower lip and trying desperately to get some air into her lungs, Kagome arched her back and presented her naked breasts to the half demon. His thumb repeated the circular motions he had used on her calves over her sensitive nipples before he sucked one into his mouth, his tongue lapping on it while his eyes locked with hers, the heat spreading from his golden irises through her body like wildfire. When he finally seemed to be satisfied, Kagome felt him divert his attention to the other nipple, the onslaught as relentless as the previous one.

Inuyasha let go with a loud pop and then looked down appreciating the beauty in his hands. The pale flesh had turned pink and the swollen mounds were now crowned by hardened red peaks, his big hands kept squeezing gently as his thumbs circled the darker area pinching the tops softly.

Kagome moaned in response, her mouth descending on his and kissing him fiercely, her tongue founding his and stroking it fervently. The rumble on his chest reverberated through her body when they broke the kiss in favor of breathing, yet Kagome needed more. Her hips were still grinding lazily, fueling their hunger. The girl´s heated core was sliding up and down his length, her mouth now focused on tasting his skin, licking him and giving soft bites to his chest in a downward route to his abdominal area.

 _"_ _Fuck!"_ Inuyasha cussed internally. He was so hard he might explode if she so much as touched him. The hanyo dragged her up against his body and kissed her again, nibbling on her lips first, then moving up her cheekbone to the fleshy part of her earlobe.

Again, Kagome had to bite her lips to prevent a primal scream from leaving her mouth as the need in her lower regions reached levels she had never experienced in her life. Reclaiming her mouth with his, Inuyasha swallowed her screams as he rolled her over. Her nipples still wet from his saliva pressing hard against his chest and his rock-hard erection flush against her core while her legs circled his waist and locked behind his back

"Sir, can I get your girlfriend anything else?"

The sound of the shop attendant´s voice brought Kagome spiraling down from her cloud and she was suddenly very aware of their state and their surroundings. A furious blush exploded on her cheeks and rapidly spread down her neck. She tried to cover her naked torso as Inuyasha disentangle himself from her and cleared his throat before trying to speak to the woman outside. He Turned around and sat on the floor making sure his breathing was under control.

"We´re fine, thank you."

He didn´t need to turn around again to confirm that Kagome was already gone. The sound of her bare feet scurrying on the carpet was proof that she was too shocked to face him right now.

Inuyasha looked up to the ceiling and run both hands through his hair while taking a deep steading lungful of air before getting up.

"That would be all for the moment." He told the woman he could still hear on the other side of the door.

He still got some emails to answer, he reminded himself. It would be better for both of them if he focused on work until Kagome was eventually able to come out and face him.

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A/N: I´m basing Kagome´s experience on my own life, some of it at least. I had a really rough time when I became sexually active although my boyfriend didn´t cheat on my, that I know of, I was finally able to enjoy sex with him after some months. I don´t put all the blame on him now that I have more experience I know some of the blame was mine too, I was too young and inexperienced and was too afraid of speaking up for myself. All the other insecurities Kagome has concerning her body are also a reflection of myself. I could bet that most of us ladies are terrified to face a mirror on a changing room. I don´t mean we need a man in our life to validate us, we shouldn´t be so hard on ourselves, that´s all.


	7. Chapter 7 Dr Ikeda

Hello my dears, it´s a new month and we have a new chapter. I hope you don´t find this one too boring cause it contains some scientific nonsense. I expect the details are not too bothersome, I just felt that some background was necessary. Hopefully, it will be the last bit of science, if it´s not essential to the story I´ll leave it out. I tried to be accurate, but I left some details that didn´t fit my plans out. If you want to know more you can do some research, I did my homework but most of it was omitted.

On a side note, some comments mentioned that I wrote Kouga too selfish and uncaring. I promise I have no hate for the wolf prince, I just needed an antagonist, that´s all. I´d like to mention I don´t hate Kikyo either, I used to when I first watched the anime but as I grew up I understood her a little better. However, I don´t like her getting between Inukag, but we need the conflict, or the story would be too boring.

DISCLAIMER: All the characters from Inuyasha belong to the talented Rumiko Takahashi.

7- Doctor Ikeda

"Welcome! Inuyasha, it takes some serious programming to get you to see me? How are you, my boy?"

Inuyasha couldn´t answer right away as he was trying to dodge the older man with a huge smile who was currently intent on hugging him.

"I´m fine Onigumo. This is Higurashi Kagome, the person that Miroku and I selected to help us with the project."

Kagome respectfully vowed her head.

"It´s an honor to meet you, Doctor Ikeda."

The doctor finally settled for a few pats on Inuyasha´s back and turned his attention to her.

"Well, look at this! You finally found someone. Likewise." He gave a small nod in return and Kagome was able to relax for the first time since she and Inuyasha left the department store.

 _"_ _Don´t go back there, pay attention to the situation at hand!"_ The girl had to keep avoiding thinking about what had happened, at least until she got home and was alone.

"Yeah, she was highly recommended by Miroku and some associates of him." Inuyasha didn´t mention Sango, Miroku´s approval was enough for him and Onigumo would just have to trust him.

"Good! She seems very capable." The doctor seemed to be surveying the young girl while he kept nodding his head. For once, Kagome was glad she was wearing something elegant, she had donned one of the recently acquired suits. Inuyasha had insisted and she hadn´t been in a state of mind to deny him back at the store. She had chosen a navy-blue pencil skirt and a matching jacket with a cream-colored silk blouse underneath and nude shoes. Even when the heels weren´t that high, she looked every bit the sophisticated business woman she was supposed to be. And she was glad that the good doctor didn´t look at her the way Miss Sakasagama had.

"Inuyasha, would you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes? I´d like to have a conversation with Miss Higurashi and get to know her a bit." The doctor had gone back behind his desk and was already on the phone. "Kagura, please, tell my daughter to meet Inuyasha at the conference room, he´ll be waiting for her."

"Oh, that´s not necessary." Inuyasha´s voice suddenly faltered, Kagome noticed immediately. "I mean, there´s no need to bother Kikyo, I´m sure she´s very busy."

 _"_ _Kikyo? Where did I hear that name?"_ Kagome was intrigued. She could see how uncomfortable Inuyasha was getting, sure this woman had something to do with it.

"Nonsense! You two had spent a long time apart, I´m sure she will be happy to see you." The doctor was once again on Kagome´s side of the desk pulling a chair for her. "This way, I can talk to this lovely lady and not worry about you waiting for us to finish."

 _"_ _So, they hadn´t seen each other for a while, could it be that this Kikyo person and Inuyasha have bad blood between them?"_ Kagome couldn´t help but wonder what had happened that had Inuyasha so stressed. _"Inuyasha doesn´t date since Kikyo."_ Suddenly, her conversation with Shippo came to mind. Inuyasha and Kikyo were a couple or had been in the past and he was avoiding her.

"Go ahead, Kikyo will see you in the conference room."

The hanyo just let out a defeated sigh and turned for the door without a single glance her way. Kagome felt bad for him, facing an alienated ex after a long time was tough, especially after making out with somebody else. Her thoughts were back to Hojo now. _"Focus!"_ She wanted to shake her head to clear it from all the thoughts that appeared uninvited. _"You´ll deal with all of it after you finish this interview."_

"Alright dear, now that we are alone, why don´t you tell me all about yourself?"

The doctor sat down on his side of the desk and faced Kagome. Now that her attention was focused on him, Kagome could notice the fatigue lines that surrounded his small beady eyes. Doctor Ikeda was wearing thick round glasses set on a black frame that seemed to wrap its temples around his small ears. He was older than she had expected, still not as old as her grandfather. His receding hairline and wrinkled face would mean he was around 65, she inferred. And by the tired look in his eyes and his hunched back she could tell he was dedicated to his profession. His choice of wardrobe only served to reinforce her theory, plain light blue shirt, red tie and khaki trousers. She could also see a lab coat hanging from a peg to the left of the window, next to a beige jacket. The walls to her right and left were covered by numerous diplomas pictures, prices, and even medals.

Kagome gave the older man a short account of the last few years of her life, including her formation and the jobs she had had up to the moment. She was getting anxious, the fear of being disqualified for the position Inuyasha had offered her was growing by the minute.

"Enough about that. Tell me more about you."

"Well, I believe I am a well-organized, responsible person…"

"Not that dear, could you tell me whether you live alone or have a roommate? A boyfriend maybe? What kind of food do you enjoy? What do you do to relax when you are not busy? That kind of stuff."

The girl was a little shocked. She had been to several interviews before, never had she been asked this kind of personal information.

After several minutes she had shared with Dr. Ikeda information about her family, her childhood, her friends, her favorite poets and painters, even her blood type and how many times she had donated blood in the past few years.

"I´m relieved to see Inuyasha has made a good choice." He finally said. "Now that I know you a little better I´m more comfortable sharing delicate information with you."

After being concentrated on "passing" Dr. Ikeda´s inspection, Kagome had almost forgotten all about the mysterious project she had joined.

"First of all, do you know anything about stem cells?" His penetrating gaze was fixed on Kagome´s waiting for her answer.

"Actually, not much. Just that some people believe they could be the key to develop the cure for many diseases."

"That is exactly what we are researching in my lab. For the last decade, or so, many scientists around the world have tried to harvest these cells and study their properties. I´ll explain it in simple terms for you. Stem cells are like the raw material used to build a body, they can divide themselves and create more similar cells. There are two kinds of stem cells, ones called adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. The first group is found in the body after development, the second come from embryos. With this first group, science has been able to develop bone marrow transplant, for instance. However, adult stem cells have limited abilities whereas embryonic stem cells have more potential for growth and development. The only problem is that up to the moment, the only way to get embryonic cells was using eggs that had been fertilized for in-vitro insemination and then discarded."

Kagome let out an audible gasp in shock, her right hand covering her mouth before she noticed what she was doing. Was this really done in the name of science? Labs discarded living embryos and offered them to be used as lab rats?

"I see you are shocked by the gruesome details child. But worry not, this is where we need your help. My lab has developed a revolutionary method to extract stem cells from embryos inside the womb without causing any harm to the embryo or the mother. We have successfully tested it in rats and sheep. The next step is to try it on humans. What we need you and your people to do first is convince the shareholders of SNT that the project is viable and that the investment will pay off. Once the company is on board with the project we can get the government´s clearance before we can take the next step."

The doctor made a pause waiting for Kagome´s reaction, which didn´t take long.

"How can you be sure it won´t harm the baby? Or the mother?" Her trembling voice sounded weak, even to her own ears, she wasn´t even sure the doctor could hear her.

"We can´t be a hundred percent sure until we try it. We have high hopes for this new harvesting method, though."

"Harvesting?" Just mentioning the word made her shudder. "But if people are aware of the risk, who would ever volunteer for such a thing?"

"You would be surprised. The number of abortions performed in our clinics keeps growing every year. Many women would be happy to allow scientists to perform a clinical trial, for a price of course."

The girl just closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. That wasn´t what she had in mind when she accepted the job. Did Inuyasha know what the doctor was proposing? Did he agree with this? She wasn´t sure she could take any part on it.

"I can see you are uncomfortable with this idea. But think for a moment on the benefits this breakthrough could bring about.

"I´m sorry doctor. I´m not sure I can do it."

"We might be able to find a cure for diseases like cancer, Parkinson´s, stroke, Alzheimer´s, even diabetes." The old man kept on speaking, disregarding her protests. "Think about it child. The benefits outweigh the risks."

At the mention of Alzheimer´s Kagome´s attention was back on the doctor. The last couple of years she had seen her grandfather deteriorate from that horrible ailment. He was still strong and quite healthy, but his mind was not what it used to be. Her family had suffered too, the cost of having an Alzheimer´s patient was far too great for them, and she wasn´t only thinking about money. It was a devastating disease.

"I can tell you are already having second thoughts. You see my dear, not everything is black and white, there are so many shades in between." Dr. Onigumo stood up from his chair and walked to her side. He put one hand on her shoulder before continuing. "Why don´t you take a couple of days to think about it before you give me an answer?"

Unable to answer the girl just nodded. There was something unsettling about this man, she couldn´t put her finger to it, but she felt in her bones the doctor was hiding something from her.

"Silly me, I almost forgot." Dr. Onigumo picked up the phone on his desk again. "Kagura, will you send Kana in please, tell her to bring the documents I had asked her to draw up." He put the phone down and addressed Kagome once again. "Before you go, I need you to sign some papers, a confidentiality agreement to be more precise."

"Why?" The girl simply asked. She knew what they had just discussed was a delicate matter, she knew better than to talk about it with anyone other than Inuyasha and Miroku.

"Oh, I´m sure you are a very discreet young woman, but for safety reasons, we need to make sure you won´t be discussing this topic with anyone outside SNT."

"Fine, I understand."

She had barely spoken the words when the doctor´s assistant came in without knocking, her ruby eyes glinting and a smug smile on her face.

"Miss Higurashi follow me, please."

Both women walked through intricate corridors until they arrived at a smaller office. The door was opened, and Kagome was introduced to a young white-haired girl all dressed in white sporting a blank expression on her face. Kagura introduced them and left Kagome there with a small pile of papers to be signed.

Kagura wasted no time, in a flash she was back in doctor Ikeda´s office. The old man only lifted his head to acknowledge her.

"That was fast. Were the cameras on the whole time?" He demanded.

"Of course, and everything was recorded, as you asked." The demoness reassured him.

"Excellent! Now, show me Inuyasha and Kikyo."

Kagura turned to stand on his side of the desk and grabbed the mouse to click on an icon on the screen. She just had to rewind it to the moment Kikyo entered the conference room where Inuyasha was pacing impatiently.

"There you go. This is what happened while you were entertaining this human girl."

Even though the conference room was larger than his office and the cameras were far from him, the doctor could sense the tension on Inuyasha´s shoulders and he was able to see his tortured expression when Kikyo entered the room.

"Kikyo… you look… I mean… I wanted to see you. It´s been a long while. When did you come back? Why didn´t you call me?"

The woman´s cool façade was turned to face Inuyasha, the camera could not capture it. However, the gelid tone of her voice was enough for them to imagine.

"Oh, dear. And tell you what? I´m back in Japan. Europe was great but I couldn´t find a place that brought me peace, so I had to come back and face my demons, or half demon maybe?"

Inuyasha just sneered before answering.

"Did it ever cross your mind that we could face our demons together?"

"No, I don´t think so." Kikyo crossed her arm in front of her, her brow furrowed and her lips forming a tight line. "If I hadn´t made it clear before, let me put it simple words so you can understand. I hate you. You ruined my life and I don´t want to spend more time than I have to in your presence."

"Kikyo!" The hurt was evident in Inuyasha´s eyes, so much so that the young woman had to turn around to avoid seeing it.

"You knew how much I wanted to be a normal woman. Thanks to you, I will never be able to have a normal life, a family of my own."

"You make it sound like I did it on purpose, I never meant to hurt you Kikyo."

A spiteful shadow covered her lovely face when Kikyo turned away from the camera and faced Inuyasha again, her long straight hair whipping around the waist of her lavender dress.

"You knew your mother withered away and died after you were born, how could you spare me that detail? A hanyo child was likely to drive me to my grave but you chose to keep that fact to yourself. Now I am half a woman, who would ever want to spend his life with me?"

"I´m still here Kikyo. I promised to be with you, the offer still stands, if you´ll have me."

Onigumo could see the figure of his stepdaughter hunching her shoulders. Even when the sobs that followed were almost imperceptible, he knew the girl was crying.

When he saw her defenses crumbled to pieces, Inuyasha stepped closer and embraced the woman he once loved so dearly, seeing her crying like a little child, he could do nothing but try to comfort her. His arms encircled her slender form, her head finding shelter in the crook of his neck, she was unable to prevent the tears running down her cheeks. Slowly and steadily her breathing came back to normal, Inuyasha could feel her body relaxing against him.

The grainy image on the monitor seemed to freeze for a few seconds, the people spying on Inuyasha and Kikyo thought something had failed. A dark figure appeared on the screen and the couple turned to face it.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha´s voice broke the silence. He pulled away from the crying girl who was now clinging to him.

"I´m sorry, I didn´t know you were busy."

The dark figure turned to leave and both Onigumo and Kagura saw Kagome´s shocked expression before she left the room.

"Is that woman! You are seeing that woman, aren't you?"

The gelid edge returned to Kikyo´s voice and to her features.

Inuyasha was going to protest that he wasn´t but he hesitated. Was he not? They had only shared a few torrid moments together, that was all. Then why did he felt he couldn´t deny her?

Another shadow crossed the camera as Kikyo stormed furiously out of the room.

"Kikyo!"

One more time the image seemed frozen, with Inuyasha gaping at the monitor. For what seemed an eternity but were only a few seconds, the hanyo remained in place, the only sign that the image was, in fact, a live stream was his sudden blinking. The two spies were left astonished with not much more to watch until the half-demon recomposed himself and finally left the room too.

"Well, at least now we know Yura was right." Kagura broke the silence while turning to the side to face the doctor, a devilish grin adorning his face.

"Yes, I think we finally found the right woman!"

"It took a while, but she´s in our hands now." Kagura´s grin almost matched the doctor´s.

"Not quite yet, I think she needs a little incentive. Tell Yura to meet us tonight. She can still be useful even when she couldn´t get Inuyasha to notice her."


	8. Chapter 8 BFFs

Hello again. I´m happy to read your comments about the last chapter, you´ll learn about the doctor´s plan little by little- insert evil laughter.

DISCLAIMER: All the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I just borrowed them for my story.

8- BFFs

"I´m fine, just busy with new stuff at work. Can we meet on Saturday?"

After trying several different renderings of basically the same message, Kagome opted for this version. She decided she needed to talk things out with Hojo. What she was going to say was still a subject for meditation, but one thing was clear, her relationship with Hojo needed to change.

Once she left Dr. Ikeda´s lab, she had wandered the streets aimlessly. The image of Inuyasha with another woman in his arms had disturbed her more than she was willing to admit, and she needed to clear her head before she could make any rash decisions.

She knew she had no right to feel offended, it´s not like they had a relationship or anything like that. He could hook up with any woman he chose for all she cared, besides, she wasn´t even free to have something with him. However, only a couple of hours earlier they both had shared an intimate moment. He had stirred feelings inside her she had not felt in years, sensations she thought she would never feel again. It obviously didn´t mean anything to him, but to her, what did it mean exactly?

When the street lights started to illuminate the darkening streets, Kagome realized she should be heading home. The only problem was she didn´t want to go home and be alone with her thoughts.

Taking out her cell phone and hoping the old thing didn´t finally crumble in her hands, she unlocked it and started to write another message.

"Are you busy right now? Can I come over?"

A few seconds later her phone vibrated with the reply.

"You´re always welcome here. Please come, I´m so bored."

Quickening her pace, the raven-haired girl arrived at her friend´s building in record time, another way to get rid of negative energies, she thought. She was buzzed in almost immediately and found her best friend waiting for her at the top of the stairs, her body weight supported by crutches and her right foot bandaged.

"Kagome! I´m so happy to see you." The browned-haired girl beamed at her. "What have you done to yourself, you look stunning!"

Sango was almost shouting her welcome, opening her arms to receive her friend while the crutches fell to the floor with a loud crashing sound. Kagome smiled back and let her friend wrap her in a crushing hug when she reached the door. She had always admired Sango´s strength, now that her right foot was injured and she had to balance her weight on her left one, she still managed to squeeze the air out of Kagome´s lungs while hugging her.

"I´m so glad you´re here, I have been going crazy with nothing to do all day. And Miroku trying to take care of me is so..."

"Sweet?" Kagome offered.

"Try suffocating. He never lets me out of his sight and I´m barely allowed to move. He´s driving me insane!" Sango supported her weight by holding Kagome´s arm, both friends too distracted by the conversation to pick the crutches up at the moment.

They sat on the couch, Kagome helping Sango sit down before plopping down in front of her.

"Rough day, ha?" Sango was too perceptive to even try to conceal her emotions, Kagome had come to see her with that thought in mind.

"Rough day, rough week, rough life." Kagome snorted.

"Oh, please, you never liked to see yourself as a victim, are you beginning now?"

"It seems like a good time to start." Kagome sighed and run her fingers through her hair. "What about you? Aren´t you gonna tell me what happened to your foot?"

Sango took one look at her friend´s features and decided she should talk first and after Kagome had relaxed a little, they could talk about whatever was bothering her friend.

"Nothing too fancy, I was teaching a kickboxing class and fell too hard on my right foot. The worst part is that I had to get someone to take over all my classes cause I have to rest for a couple of weeks."

"Ha, boring accident. Inuyasha hinted you and Miroku were probably involved in some kinky sexual accident." Kagome said distractedly.

"Oh, did he?" Sango arched an eyebrow and smirked."So, you two already met?"

Kagome just snorted.

"You could say that we met. I mean, working in the same building, it was only a matter of time."

"Miroku said we should have introduced you a long time ago since you are working for him now. And how exactly did you two meet if Miroku didn´t introduce you?"

The raven-haired girl looked down at her own hands and then at Sango´s face. She could tell her friend suspected she was hiding something. Sango and she had been friends since childhood, her family used to worship at the Higurashi shrine and the two girls had also shared school in their teen years. Kagome had confided in Sango since she had her first crush on a boy. They knew each other´s dreams, hopes, and heartbreaks, it was natural for Kagome to ask her for advice. And the same was also true for Sango, Kagome knew all the nuisances of her relationship with Miroku, even some gross details that she hoped she hadn´t learned. In a way, Kagome envied Sango that; she and Miroku were a solid couple. No matter how disgusted she seemed at their antics, Kagome knew their love was built on strong foundations. So, if Kagome had to accept relationship advice, Sango was the only person she could trust that was qualified for the job.

"I met Inuyasha when I stole his ramen," Kagome confessed while Sango could only giggle. She sighed softly and continued. "You know I have been struggling with money since grandpa was sent to the retirement home, I had enough for breakfast only this last week and I was hungry. I found instant ramen in the coffee break room after lunch, everybody I knew on that floor had left, I thought it had been forgotten and I ate it. Turned out it was Inuyasha´s and boy, was he mad at me!"

"Nice way to meet a guy!" Sango finally let out a guffaw. "And now the guy hates your gut."

"Well, I wouldn´t say that he hates me..."

"What? Did you beg him for mercy? Did you stand up to him?"

"Actually, we ended up making out." Kagome shriveled down in her seat, her voice becoming only a whisper that Sango was doubtful she had heard right.

"You did what?" The brown-haired girl was incredulous, her eyes wide in shock and her upper body jumping forward on the couch reminding Kagome of a Jack in the box.

Sending her an apologetic glance and shrinking her shoulders, even more, Kagome continued. "He said he needed to taste me to make sure I had done it."

"And you just let him?" Sango´s voice was reaching a high pitch that Kagome didn´t know she could reach.

"Oh, no. I didn´t just let him. I encouraged him. Hell, I even started round two when he took me home later that night."

"WHAT?" This time Sango did scream, the sound making Kagome close her eyes and shrink even more in her seat. "Aren´t you supposed to be some frigid nun?"

Kagome opened one eye to spy on her friend. She couldn´t tell if Sango was shocked, amused or angry. What she saw was her friend snickering wide, her eyes large in surprise. _"Amused it is,"_ she decided.

"First of all, that´s offensive."Kagome started to enumerate. " Second, I was trained as a priestess, not a nun. And third, I had believed that too for a long time, that I was frigid."

Sango seemed to be doing math in her head, her face changing from amused to intrigued. For a few seconds, she remained silent until she couldn´t hold her tongue any longer.

"Does that mean you never get excited?" Sango finally dared to ask.

"Well," Kagome tapped a finger on her chin trying to think of the best way convey what she had felt to her friend. "When I was dating Koga, I did. But then, it was a something that never got fulfilled, so I don´t really know." The young miko sighed before continuing. "After that awful experience I swore off men altogether, I never let anybody this close before."

"That doesn´t mean your body was closed for business. I mean, we all have needs." Sango felt her face hotter every second but she felt they should discuss this now that Kagome was finally opening to her.

Kagome´s face matched her friend´s in color, a deep shade of red. She wanted to drop this subject and never discuss it again. While another side of her demanded to let it out in the open once and for all.

"Sure, I have needs too, like everybody else. I just took care of them by myself."

"Oh!" Sango´s mouthed remained rounded for a while, matching her saucer-shaped eyes. Another shocking reveal from her friend on the same night? It was huge. Kagome and she had been friends for years, she had confided her most daring dreams and shocking fantasies to her and had gotten nothing of the kind from the young miko.

"Hmm." Sango cleared her throat before speaking again. "Then you´re definitely not frigid, girl."

"I suspected that myself. I was probably hiding behind that label to avoid being hurt again." Kagome sighed and hugged herself, another gesture of self-protection.

"Wow, that was deep. How come we never talked about this before? Every time we discussed the subject you focused on what a bastard your ex was." Sango moved forward on her seat again, propping one elbow on her left knee and resting her head on a fist."Did you have sex with Inuyasha?"

"No, I did not!"

Kagome´s initial shock at the suggestion vanished when she thought about it a little."But honestly, I think I wanted to." Then she had to look down when she felt her cheeks burn.

"Oh dear Kami, that´s great Kags!" Sango tried to make eye contact with her friend while she kept darting her eyes away. "You should stop having second thoughts and go for it. If he showed interest in you, what´s stopping you?"

"Well, for starters he has a relationship with someone named Kikyo. I saw them together today."

"That´s not true. I know he feels guilty about what happened but they hadn´t been together for years."

The vehement defense of Inuyasha made Kagome finally look up, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"What happened between them?"

Sango sighed and looked down at her hands.

"I´m not really sure if I should be the one telling you this. Even if I haven´t known Inuyasha for too long, I know he can be very protective of his intimacy." Sango locked her gaze on Kagome´s pleading eyes and went on."But since you are my dearest and closest friend and I know you two deserve a chance, I´ll tell you." The brunette licked her dry lips and continued. "Inuyasha and Kikyo were engaged a couple of years ago; she got pregnant and then had a miscarriage. I don´t know the details but Miroku says she blames Inuyasha for it and that she has made him go through hell ever since." Sango reached for Kagome´s hand and gave is a small squeeze. "See? I don´t know what you saw, but I´m pretty sure they are not together."

"That doesn´t mean I´m ready for a relationship." Kagome squeezed her friend´s hand back and looked up into her eyes, fear and anxiety plain on her own coffee colored orbs.

"Kags dear, you don´t need to have a relationship with every guy you want to have sex with."

"Sango!" Kagome took back her hand from Sango´s grip. "You know I´m not like that, I couldn´t just sleep with some guy without getting to know him."

"I didn´t mean it like that! For Kami´s sake Kags, you think I´m some kind of a slut?" Sango saw her friend´s face smiling an apology and her hand patting hers fondly. "What I meant was that you obviously like the guy so, you should try to get to know him better. It will also help you get over your issues with sex."

"But, what if it doesn´t work out between us?"

"Well, if it doesn´t work out, at least you will get it out of your system. Come on, you said it yourself, you want him, don´t you? And Inuyasha is so hot! I bet he´ll make you enjoy every second of it."

Sango snickered and waggled her eyebrows at her friend until Kagome finally smiled.

"I have to admit one thing, he is one smoking hot half demon." Kagome conceded.

"At least now we know for sure one thing." Sango teased.

"What?" The girl asked intrigued.

"First it was Kouga, now Inuyasha. It´s clear to me that you are definitely a dog person."

The laughter that broke out from both girls was loud enough to startle the neighbours who spent a couple more hours amused by the happy sounds coming from the appartment. 


	9. Chapter 9 Bros before

Hello, dears! Apparently is becoming a tradition, new month, new chapter. Please enjoy the brotherly love, no smut for the time being, hopefully in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I just borrowed them for my story.

9 Bros before...

"What did she do this time?"

Miroku dropped next to the hanyo on the empty stool he knew had been reserved for him by his friend.

"Who are you talking about?" Inuyasha pretended to ignore the answer, but he was pretty sure who was on Miroku´s mind.

"Come on, man. You are usually a beer guy; you only drink sake when you´ve been punched in the gut. During the last couple of years, it´s coincided with you meeting Kikyo. Now, will you finally accept that you saw her, and she did or say something to upset you?"

Miroku´s eloquence only irritated Inuyasha more than he already was. He knew his friend had his wellbeing at heart, but it didn´t mean that he would let him attack Kikyo openly. Ever since the beginning of their relationship, Miroku had been too critical of it. Inuyasha had thought his friend was just jealous of his then-fiancée, but after the breakup, he had realized Miroku´s harsh words had some truth in them.

"What if I tell you there´s somebody else this time?" The hanyo proffered.

"How many did you have already?" Miroku wiggled his eyebrows pointing with his nose to the glass. He knew from experience that Inuyasha could hold his liquor better than any human but didn´t waste the opportunity to mess with him.

"I´m serious. I just met someone and she´s already turning my world upside down."

The violet-eyed man was pensive for a few seconds. He took a sip from a beer the bartender handed him and looked intensely into Inuyasha´s eyes.

"You are serious." He concluded. "Who is she? Did you finally give in to some of the demonesses begging for your attention?"

"Keh! You know damn well I don´t take youkai females seriously. They either have a secret agenda or they just want a one-night stand."

"You never know, Princess Abby was quite smitten with you." Miroku seemed to remember the bird youkai flirting with his friend during the last SNT Christmas party.

"It wasn't me, you idiot. She was hitting on Sesshomaru, and she was drunk too."

"Oh, yeah, it was your brother, right? Anyhow, who is this lady who has you drinking sake then? Do I happen to know her?"

"Yeah, you do. It´s Kagome." Inuyasha finally admitted. He wanted to tell Miroku upfront what had happened between him and this woman, despite knowing Miroku would tease him endlessly.

"Oh my, Lady Kagome, huh? I didn´t think you would be interested in someone like her, though Sango and myself once considered we should introduce you two."

"Well, Sango was on to something. And why wouldn´t I be interested in her? She is cute."

"Yes, she is cute. But the women you usually date are often more... flashy, dare I say?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Inuyasha sighed and signed the bartender for another bottle. "I would have thought the exact same thing, but there´s something about this woman that draws me to her." Inuyasha let out a loud sigh and refilled his cup before taking a sip from it. "The chemistry between us is insane, I can´t keep my hands off of her."

"Wow, really? You?" Miroku snickered cheekily. "I was starting to believe it was you who had the vocation to become a monk."

Making fun of religion was like a defense mechanism for the dark-haired man. Coming from a family with a long history of Buddhist tradition, many of its male members had chosen to enter a monastery. Miroku himself had entertained the idea for a while until he was sent to Todai* and got a taste of life away from his strict family rules. He ended up opting to live his life to the fullest, dating, drinking and partying his way through university. In spite of his decadent lifestyle, Miroku had managed to become quite a successful pianist, though he preferred jazz to traditional classical music his parents had hoped when he announced his career choice. Life was good, he used to think, until that dreadful day when he crashed his car into a tree while driving home after a wild orgy involving alcohol, drugs and some voluptuous bimbo. He survived the accident, but the cost had been far too great. He was bedridden for several months, many bones in his body were broken, a couple of ribs, his clavicle, his left fibula, though the worst damage had been sustained by his right hand. He had broken the wrist and several fingers, he was inches away from losing the whole limb, suffering excruciating pain and making him feel useless for months.

Not one of his so-called friends or voluptuous girlfriends set foot on the hospital during that time, except Inuyasha. It took him almost two years of painful operations and exercises to finally get it in shape again. However, having to let go of his piano was what had hurt him the most.

If it hadn´t been for Inuyasha he would still be beaten by depression. His best friend since high school had never left him alone, he had taken care of the medical bills when his family´s insurance had been surpassed and even gave him a job in his company to help him stand on his own two feet after he had recovered.

Little by little Miroku regained his self-confidence and his cheerful demeanor. A few months later he met Sango at a gym and knew his life was complete with her by his side. No more wild parties and booze, he had learned a painful lesson.

Miroku blinked a few times to conjure the sad images away. Now was not the time to reminiscence the bad days, he thought. Inuyasha needed him and he needed to support his friend.

"So, you finally gave up your celibacy?" He teased Inuyasha and drunk from his beer to hide the wicked grin on his face.

"I´m not celibate, you moron." Inuyasha threw a playful punch to his friend's shoulder. "But I didn´t sleep with Kagome if that´s what you wanted to know."

"So, she wants a ring on her finger before you take her to bed?" Miroku didn´t know Kagome well enough to be sure, but knowing Sango was her best friend he had assumed the girl would be at least a little hard to get.

"I´m not sure, maybe?" Inuyasha shot his friend a sideways glance. "You know her better than I do."

"Sango might. I just know the basics, where she studied, her family shrine, her and Sango´s favorite hangouts…"

"Her family shrine?" Inuyasha interrupted. "Is she some kind of priestess by any chance?"

"Yeah, something like that. It´s funny, having a similar family background we never talked about it, how about that?"

"So freaking funny!" Inuyasha sarcastically said. "Just like Kikyo. Do you still think it´s amusing?"

"Oh, no, that bitch again! Inuyasha, I swear man, when are you gonna stop thinking about that woman?" He put down his bottle of beer a little harder than he intended, splashing some of its content on the counter. "What happened to you two was hard, but life goes on. Just forget about her once and for good."

"I can´t help it!" Inuyasha´s eyes bore into the violet one´s of his friend for a few seconds before looking back down. "Kagome reminded me of her in so many ways, and now this miko stuff. Keh! I shouldn´t be surprised, the first thing I thought about her was that she looked like a nun."

"She might look like a nun, but I´m sure Sango mentioned a boyfriend or a fiancé some time ago." Miroku interjected.

"No, she doesn´t have a boyfriend or anything like that. I would have picked the scent of a male on her already if she did." Inuyasha spoke confidently, but the sole idea of another male around Kagome unsettled him more than he was willing to admit.

"Then what are you worried about? It´s because of Kikyo? Or because she reminds you of Kikyo?" The look on his friend´s face was easy enough for Miroku to read. The hanyou was a mystery to most people while for Miroku he was an open book, even if he kept trying to hide it from him.

"She´s nothing like Kikyo. They may look a little bit alike, but their personalities are like the sun and the moon." He spoke looking into the other man´s eyes. The silver-haired half-demon was now facing his friend, both sitting sideways from the bar.

"Yeah, I don´t know her that well, but I can tell Kagome is no bitch." Miroku nodded for emphasis. "Then, if you two like each other, what´s stopping you? Why are you here getting drunk when you could be out with her?"

"Well, that´s when Kikyo gets involved." Inuyasha finally admitted.

"I knew that bitch had to do with you drinking!" Spitting beer all over his friend and almost jumping out of his stool, Miroku grabbed Inuyasha´s arm trying in vain to shake some sense into the stronger male. After realizing he was just bothering his friend, Miroku sat down again and continued his line of thought out loud. "Wait a minute, what does the bitch have to do with you and Kagome?" Miroku almost fell off his stool while trying to get his friend to spill the beans.

"Kagome found me hugging her when we went to see Onigumo earlier."

"WHAT? FOR FUCKS SAKE!" Miroku looked like an insane person right then, eyes bulging out and screaming at the top of his lungs. "Why were you hugging her?" I told you she was trouble, you should always avoid her Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha was getting tired of his antics. Grabbing fistfuls of his purple dress shirt, he brought Miroku to his eye level and spoke through gritted teeth.

"If you don´t calm down, I swear I´ll leave and you´ll never hear the rest of the story."

"Fine!" The ponytailed man breathed in through his nose and let the air out through his mouth several times before speaking in a normal voice. "It just pisses me off to see her manipulate you, she´s got you on a total guilt trip, man!"

"You make it sound like I have to walk out on her, wash my hands on everything that happened." Inuyasha looked down at his lap, trying to avoid his emotions to be shown on his face for Miroku and everybody to see. "I know I can´t make up for what Kikyo has lost and that´s why I can´t go on with my life knowing she´s in pain."

"Inuyasha, she will always be in pain if she refuses to seek help. You can´t help her, she needs professional care."

"We have discussed this before, Miroku. You know how I feel about it." Inuyasha faced his friend and smiled. "Can we change the subject now?"

"Fine." Miroku smiled and gave in. He knew Kikyo was a sore subject and Inuyasha would never change his mind. "Then tell me how you and Kagome met."

The smile on the hanyo´s face became a full-on smirk.

"She stole my ramen."

"I don´t believe you. Kagome is not that kind of person, she would never do that." Miroku called the bartender and asked for some water. One beer was his limit and Inuyasha was well aware of that fact, he had drunk enough for one day.

"She denied it at first but then confessed she thought it was someone´s left over and I believed her. Though at the moment I had to make sure it was her who ate it."

"Couldn´t you just sniff her?"

"Oh, I did, and she smelled of fear and…" Inuyasha remembered exactly what her scent was, cherry and vanilla laced with a subtle hint of arousal. He wouldn´t tell Miroku that. "I just had to be sure I wasn´t accusing an innocent girl."

"So, you licked her?" Miroku was a little confused at the alternatives.

"No, idiot. I kissed her." And remembering that kiss made him crave for more. He was becoming addicted, he thought.

"In the office? During working hours? Are you insane?"

"There was nobody else left on the floor, and it was in the coffee break room."

"Yeah, as if it made any difference." Miroku rubbed his face with his palm before speaking. "Did you stop to think for a moment that she could sue you for sexual harassment?"

"Shit! I never thought of that." These days it was a common practice and Kagome could easily take legal action against him if she thought he had abused his power.

Remembering the way her body had reacted, the unconcealed passion shared in their kisses, Inuyasha was certain Kagome would never consider what they had shared an abuse of power on his part. "She wouldn´t do it."

"Ok, if you are so sure about it." Miroku thought for a moment about the confidence in Inuyasha´s speech, it was clear his friend had finally met a woman he could rely on. And Kagome was definitely someone worthy of his friend´s trust, he knew Sango trusted her best friend with her life, and that was enough for him to have total faith in the woman too. "Ok, now, I´ll ask again. Why are you here getting drunk instead of out with Kagome, or in her bed, better yet?"

"I´m trying to avoid her." Inuyasha sighed and took the last sip of sake for the night. I can´t give her what she deserves. So, I decided I´ll try to stay away from her."

The hanyou smiled sadly and put down his glass. He didn´t tell Miroku he had already tried to do that exact same thing and it hadn´t worked out. He had to keep in mind Kikyo´s suffering and his own next time he met Kagome, or he would easily fall under her spell forgetting his own promise to Kikyo.

* Tōkyō daigaku The University of Tokyo (abbreviated as Todai)


	10. Chapter 10 Inferno

Hello again! I´m back with the goodies I promised last time. Things are getting hotter between this pair, I hope you like it. Please be patient, soon the action will really get intense.

Disclaimer: All the characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I just borrowed them for my story.

WARNING: Adult content, if you are under age or do not feel comfortable reading this kind of stuff, please do not keep reading.

10- Inferno.

She was in hell. The blazing inferno consuming her could be nothing other than hell. Her body twitched with every breath she took, the sulfur turned to fire in her lungs, spreading unrestrained throughout her body to find settlement in her loins.

She was burning, her mouth was dry, a thin film of perspiration covered her skin and her crotch was drenched. Clawed hands grabbed at her hips crushing her soft feminine curves against a tough male body. Her hardened nipples flattened against a chiseled muscular chest, her legs entwined with a pair of strong, rough legs. The hot air that made it to her lungs hardly gave her body any sustenance before it left it in short gasps and moans as a wickedly torrid tongue wiggled down her neck, down the valley between her breasts and underneath them. Kagome arched her back surrendering herself to the sweet torture afforded by fangs and tongue, pale pliant flesh turning redder with every scrape teasing the underside of her bosom while the pebbles on top begged for attention. Promptly, his tongue complied her silent plea, lapping at the sensitive bud, tugging the flesh tenderly between merciless teeth on one side and between thumb and fingers on the other.

Clinging to broad, sturdy shoulders and grinding her aching need against a hardened rod between their bodies, Kagome couldn´t repress a needy whimper to get past her swollen lips. Why were they swollen? Had they been thoroughly kissed? Or did she just ached for this to happen? She wasn´t sure what the answer was, everything was foggy, she couldn´t grasp a coherent thought at the moment. This demon was so familiar, she didn´t fear any harm from him, quite the contrary, she felt safe and secure and aroused beyond self-control. Her mind had been shut off, her body taking charge of her momentarily.

It all gathered in her lower body, the heat, the pain, the need. And it kept pooling there and overflowing to her nether regions. Her wet folds were painfully swollen, her clit a hard mass of nerves demanding a swift release.

She needed to be touched there, the emptiness inside throbbing in a dull ache. Just as her hand reached for the demon´s claws to direct them where they were most wanted, their eyes met. Her coffee-colored half-lidded gaze collided with a red fierce stare and Kagome screamed before she woke up, agitated and frustrated to a degree she hadn´t known in her life.

Sitting in the middle of her bed, her breath hitching and her heart running a mile a minute, the woman surveyed her surroundings only to make sure it had only been a dream, once again.

It had been impossible to get a wink of sleep, the red-eyed demon haunting her dreams leaving her exhausted and wet. She checked the clock on her bedside, it would soon be time to get up. Instead of risking yet another wet dream, Kagome decided to get a shower and get ready for work.

Jumping in the steamy spray and lathering up her body, she felt some of the tiredness leave her body. She took the shower head and rinsed the foam from her shoulders and her chest, the warm water feeling like a balm against her achy breasts. It felt slightly warmer than Inuyasha´s mouth had felt, she remembered. A sigh escaped her lips, first the nightmares, now the memories, she felt assaulted by her own senses.

Kagome shook her head and tried not to analyze herself at the moment. Focusing on what she was feeling then and there, she directed the warm stream on one nipple at the time and felt the fire inside rekindle under the soothing flow. Before she could stop herself her free hand had found the place that required attention, her nimble fingers knowingly tending to her needs. She inserted just one digit first while the rest just stroked the pulsating flesh surrounding her soaking core. It felt so good to finally let go, she could feel the coil that had been tightened by erotic dreams was struggling to set free, a little push and she would finally get the release her body needed. Using the tiled cool wall for support, Kagome arched her head back and directed the jet of water to her swollen clit while she delved another finger inside her demanding wet channel. She just needed a little push and she would reach sweet release. Moving the shower head in circles, the water splashing the stimulated bud as she bucked her hips against her own hand. The orgasm hit her soon after, leaving her out of breath and wobbling on shaky legs, her body convulsing slightly and the feeling of release not quite there.

"What just happened?" She asked the empty bathroom. She should be feeling relaxed and sated after masturbating, it was the effect she was looking for, a soothing of her aching need. All she got in the aftermath was some breathlessness and trembling limbs. No soothing or calming of her needy emptiness. She could only feel hollow and lonely.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The screeching sound coming from the alarm clock brought her out of her thoughts.

"Crap! I´d better hurry or I´ll be late again."

She didn´t want to face an angry boss today.

Inuyasha paced his office from side to side while waiting for the person on the other side of the line to finish talking. It made no difference what the answer was, he needed to lash out his disgruntlement on someone, no matter who it was.

" I don´t care what other stuff you have in your hands Jinenji," he spoke through gritted teeth, "I need that computer in my office now, so leave everything else and come here at once."

He slammed the telephone receiver just in time to see Kagome entering his office. As he had told Shiori the young girl didn´t need to be announced, he couldn´t complain about that fact.

"Finally, you´re here!" He spat at her.

Kagome looked at her wristwatch and then at him.

"I´m right on time Inuyasha, what´s your problem? I heard you screaming to somebody on the phone and now you want to take it out on me?"

Inuyasha just glared at her. He was trying to keep mad but just the sight of her was enough to placate the boiling fury inside him.

His eyes roamed her figure up and down. She was wearing one of the outfits he had seen her try on, a formal lavender o-neck sheath dress. Her hair was done in a simple ponytail, some light makeup and the semi-rimless glasses she had chosen. Her dainty feet clad in light gray pumps completed her look. She looked stunning and ready for work, which made him set his mind in work mode accordingly.

"Keh! I´m just doing my job. The problem is that nobody seems to listen." He tried to dismiss the change in his mood before she realized the effect she had on him. "And you should have arrived here earlier today, I told you we needed to set you up."

Kagome met his heated gaze and was transported back to her dream. That look reminded her of the demon that took her to unmeasurable heights, even when all she could remember were the red eyes, the smoldering intensity of his stare was the same.

 _"It has to be him."_ She told herself. No one else had made her feel like that, ever. Only Inuyasha. Damn him. And damn her mind for playing tricks on her. Why did she have to dream of a faceless demon? It would be easier to ignore him if he had a face, one different from the hanyo staring daggers in front of her.

"You never said I needed to be here earlier." Kagome could feel her temper rising. _"Good!"_ She thought anything that prevented daydreaming was welcome.

Inuyasha took a deep breath before speaking softly in an effort to keep sounding annoyed.

"When you arrived here, did you notice some people already working in this building? What time do you think they get here?"

 _"_ _Oh, now we use sarcasm?"_ Kagome let the flare of anger wash over her. "Oh, I´m so sorry boss, I´m used to my usual working hours as a part of the sales team, silly me. I should have asked you what my schedule would be now that I´m considering working on your team."

His eyes widened while he stopped momentarily frozen, Kagome knew she had hit a sore subject.

"What do you mean you are considering it? We need to get started woman!" He moved from behind his desk with feline grace entering Kagome´s personal space while she refused to step back. "Get serious, will you? Are you on board or aren´t you?"

They were only a few inches apart. If she lifted her hand, she could cross the small distance and reach the spot where his vein popped in his neck. She could get her hand inside the opened neck of his red shirt and unbutton the rest to lay both hands flat against his chest and feel the heart beating under his skin.

She swallowed a lump and blinked the image away. "I´m sorry to say this but do you trust this guy? I´m not sure his project is morally right and…"

"For fuck´s sake, just say it if you don´t want to work with me. Don´t make up any more excuses." He snapped. She was getting nervous, he could sense it. And it hurt him that it had to do with him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Now she was really pissed. Did he seriously think it was an excuse, that she was only trying to avoid him? Kagome lifted a hand in front of him but instead of touching him she poked him on the chest. "Listen to me, I´m not making up anything. I don´t think that Onigumo is trustworthy…"

She had to stop right there. Was he sniffing her hand? Was this some weird demon, or hanyo thing she wasn´t aware of? A strange ritual meant to subdue her? Just as she was about to ask, Inuyasha grabbed her hand and pulled it not so gently to his nose, taking one whiff after the other of the powerfully drugging scent.

"What is it?" She asked, her brow knitted in confusion. Is not like her hand smelled any different today, she hadn´t touched any strange smelling object. Then she remembered what places that hand had touched, a furious blush covered her face as realization exploded in technicolor for his eyes alone.

 _"He knows, oh dear Kami, he can tell what I did!"_ Kagome wanted the earth to open and swallow her whole, mortification rolling over her and drowning any physical response, she was frozen in place.

Nose twitching and ears perked, Inuyasha kept inhaling the luscious bouquet emanating from the girl´s fingertips. There was no mistaking it, those fingers had been soaked in her delicious nectar. The scent was strong, musky and oh so sweet, his body reacted to it before he could prevent it, his mouth watering and his member hardening instantaneously. His mouth opened, to let his tongue stuck out on their own volition, dashing out to sample a taste of her.

Kagome didn´t know what was more embarrassing, the fact that he knew she had touched herself or the way she still reacted to him even after having treated her body to some form of relief. This couldn´t be happening, her panties were soaking again and Inuyasha was certainly aware of it by the devilish look in his eyes which never broke contact with hers.

Twisting the wet appendage around her enticing digits, Inuyasha pulled her wrist and opened his mouth to suck on the exquisite flavor. He was hooked on it, he needed more. His lips closed tightly around the tips while his tongue lapped at every drop he managed to draw.

A loud moan escaped Kagome´s lips. She was melting again. She wanted to be sprawled on the desk and have Inuyasha put that devilish mouth to good use in other parts of her body until she could finally get the satisfaction she was craving. She closed her eyes and let go of herself if he wanted her now was the moment to take her.

"Excuse me, sir," the sound of the intercom gave them both a startle. "Jinenji is here, he says you sent for him." Shiori´s sweet voice felt like a bucket of ice cold water being poured over both of them.

Inuyasha let go of the trembling limb and went back behind his desk leaving Kagome motionless in front of it. He couldn´t let Jinenji or anybody else see the massive erection he was trying to hide. He took a couple of cleansing breaths before answering. "Let him in."

"Good morning boss." The huge hanyo said after he entered the room, his presence making Kagome feel tiny. "Miss." He added nodding in her direction. "I´ve got you a laptop." He spoke nervously looking at his feet. "It´s not the latest technology but is all I could get today. If you wait until next week…"

"That won´t be necessary. She will be using this one, aren´t you Kagome."

The young woman cleared her throat before speaking. "Hi, I´m Higurashi, Kagome. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand to the nervous giant in an attempt to make him feel at ease. "Don´t worry, I won´t be needing another computer."

Finally, Jinenji looked up into her friendly eyes and smiled at her. "Nice to meet you Higurashi-san. I´m Watanabe Jinenji."

"Leave us now Jinenji, I need to speak to the lady." Inuyasha cut all the formalities, he needed to settle things with Kagome the sooner, the better.

She was still standing wide-eyed in front of his desk, so he asked her directly.

"What is this nonsense about having second thoughts? Did you really mean it?"

When they entered professional territory, Kagome felt at ease again.

"It´s simple I don´t think I can trust Onigumo. What about you?" She remained expectant of his next words.

"You mean do I trust him?" Inuyasha took a moment to think about it. He had known Onigumo his whole life, he was a close friend of his father and took care of his mother when she was ill. Besides, Inuyasha had been engaged to his daughter and had never heard a negative word from him. He was used to Onigumo being a constant presence in his life, like a part of his family. In all these years Inuyasha had never questioned the man, did he really trust him?

"I do. I think he is trustworthy." He finally said.

"Ok, then I´m in. It all boils down to trust. You say you can trust him and I trust you."

Inuyasha didn´t know how to answer. The warm feeling radiating from his chest was something he was not used to.

"Then, we should set you up and we can start this project right away."


	11. Chapter 11 Falling

11- Falling

Hello everybody! I know it´s not original but again, sorry for the delayed update. Life has been crazy lately and it´s taking me longer to get the ideas into words. Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the story. There´s a little NSFW part at the beginning, not the big Inukag smut yet, but we´ll get there soon, I promise.

DISCLAIMER: All the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I just borrowed them for my story.

WARNING: Adult content ahead, if you are underage or do not enjoy smutty goodness, please do not read it.

The nights were becoming endless. Kicking the covers to the side and heaving an exasperated sigh, Inuyasha sat on his bed. Sleeplessness was getting to him after several days of the same pattern repeating itself over and over again. He found himself every night in his comfortable bed wide awake and painfully aroused.

 _"This has to be the worst case of blue balls ever."_ He thought not for the first time this week.

Whenever he closed his eyes he relived every kiss he and Kagome had shared, remembering every heated detail, his lust growing to levels unknown to him.

Grunting his exasperation, he got to his feet and started to pace his bedroom. He should listen to Miroku and try to get laid. He was rich and he knew many females found him attractive, a couple of assets he took advantage of when necessary. He knew more than a few willing females that would kill to bang a demon or even a half demon.

 _"But they are not Kagome."_

He hated the little voice in his head when it became all self-righteous and annoying. True, these women would not sate his craving for the raven-haired girl, or his apparently unquenchable hunger. If he hadn´t got any the last couple of months it wasn´t for lack of candidates. He had slept around enough to know the outcome. The sad part was that every cheap encounter always left him feeling empty and he would be even more vulnerable to Kagome´s appeal.

Earlier that day, after he caught on the scent impregnated on her fingertips, his whole body had hardened in response. He could tell those fingers had been at work deep inside her body and he couldn´t help wondering whether she had thought of him at that moment. Did she remember their encounters as she pleasured herself? Did she call his name when she came?

"Oh, dear kami!"

His swollen member twitched demanding his attention, Inuyasha sneaked his hand inside his pajama pants and took it in his palm, the neglected flesh felt hot and heavy. He closed his fingers around it and stroked it once, the need pulling at the base, the skin feeling tighter every time his hand slid up and down its length. He needed to take this to the shower right that moment, or risk making a mess of his bedroom. He got naked and opened the cold tab jumping in and shuddering as the cool jet splashed his chest. It didn´t help, in a second he got used to the cold and his member still wept for Kagome.

Thinking of her full luscious lips, he licked his own and gave in to his body´s demands. He remembered how her pink nipples had hardened against his palm and wondered if her nether lips would be the same color. His hand gained speed while he felt the relief so close. The taste of her fingers almost sent him over the edge that afternoon, he imagined for a moment he could get a taste of that special place, his tongue delving into her wet channel instead of just her fingers. With that image in his mind, Inuyasha released a low grunt as he sprayed his semen over the wet tiles of the shower floor.

Another sigh escaped his lips and he lowered his head under the cold water. Feeling as low as dirt he reached for the soap and lathered himself. He had known what he would feel like the minute he started touching himself, the outcome was always the same, just like he felt after a one night stand, loneliness, regret, emptiness.

What he needed was the real thing, he thought. A warm loving body who would give him as much as it took from him.

Once again, his mind went to Kagome and their exchange that afternoon. After she made him feel like a horny teenager, she told him she trusted him and left him speechless. What could he answer to that?

Kagome was taking over his life. There was no escaping her. But she was no one night stand. With her, it would have to be the whole package

If only he was free, he wouldn´t hesitate so much. He would jump at the chance to court her, to woo her, to be with her. Alas, he was committed to Kikyo, even when she had rejected all of his proposals.

Stepping out of the shower and drapping a towel around his waist a new idea assaulted him. There was another scenario he hadn´t dared to contemplate yet. It was the most unlikely to happen, thus his reticence to openly discuss it, finding a way of convincing Kikyo to get help. When his ex could finally find peace he would be free to pursue Kagome.

 _"Like there´s a chance that could happen."_

He shouldn´t even think about it. After all this time Kikyo only seems to live off his pain. He would never confess this to Miroku, but deep inside, he knew his friend was right. Anger and resentment was the fuel that kept Kikyo going, he was well aware. He had accepted it as long as it gave her a reason to live, fearing she would search a different way out. The death of their unborn baby and Kikyo´s suffering had been enough of a burden for him, her own death would be unbearable.

Before he noticed he was back at his bedside, he plopped down laying on his back. He was tired of this miserable existence, he couldn´t remember the last time he felt true happiness.

 _"Yes, of course, you can."_

That fucking voice again. If he was honest, he could remember it clearly. It was when he found out Kikyo was pregnant. He had been elated by the news, the most sublime feeling he could recall, and it lasted only a couple of weeks.

 _"Enough with the pity party. Get up, go lift some weight or jog or something."_

This time the little voice sounded more friendly. Perhaps he should give it a little more credit.

-

Kagome sat at her desk very early the next morning. She had taken Inuyasha´s "advice" and arrived earlier today. Despite the images of a red-eyed demon assaulting her subconscious while sleeping and a golden-eyed half-demon when she was awake, she had managed to get up earlier today. Exhaustion was becoming a regular thing for her.

She was the first one to get to this floor, before Shiori, Shipo, and Inuyasha himself. Kagome was happy to have beaten even that dreadful Miss Sakasagami to be the first one enter the building.

Smiling happily at this little victory, the young woman sat down at the head of the long table in the conference room and opened her laptop. Before doing anything she decided to re-read what she and Inuyasha had already started. It was a list of all the partners of SNT whose vote they needed to secure.

The day before, after yet another intense moment between them, she and Inuyasha had got to work on the project and finally had something to show for it.

The first thing Onigumo had asked of them was to get the board to approve the financing of his experiment. They had started the list with the more prominent shareholders at the top while the ones that had less importance on the board were at the bottom. Inuyasha´s brother was at the head, meaning that Kagome would have to meet with the guy and try to gain his support for the cause.

She had heard rumors about the guy. He was said to be a very powerful daiyoukai, wise, old and not very friendly. Many of her coworkers were greatly intimidated by him, whenever he set foot in this building humans and demons alike started trembling in fear. And she would have to sit with this almighty being and not only pry in his thoughts but also try and change his views if they weren´t favorable to Onigumo´s plans.

Kagome sighed and tried to concentrate on the rest of the list before getting nervous over the first task. So far, she had been doing the work of a secretary and she was ok with that, she focused on the easy part, for now, following Inuyasha´s lead and trusting he knew what they were doing.

"Good morning Kagome."

The young kitsune´s voice made her lift her head from the computer and smile in response. "Good morning Shippo."

One of the agreements she and Inuyasha had reached was that Shippo would be working with her as an assistant. If she needed any aid he would be the one providing it.

"I brought you kiwis today," he said as he placed the containers on the table. Breakfast was mandatory, Inuyasha had been adamant about that, she wouldn´t be skipping the first meal of the day under his watch.

"Thank you, sweetie!"

She left her computer opened and moved to the other end of the table where Shippo had laid the plates and cups for their meal.

They ate and chat amicably, exchanging jokes and stories. When Inuyasha arrived they were almost finishing and he sat down with them for a cup of coffee, finally being able to relax after seeing her smile.

The trio worked on the list during the morning, leaving the phone calls for the afternoon. Shippo and Kagome would contact the partners and make appointments for Miroku and herself. The fourth member of the group would be joining them the following week if Sango´s recovery went on as planned.

After a quick lunch, Inuyasha left Kagome and Sippo on their own and returned to his office to work on his own stuff which had been piling up on his desk all week. He hadn´t been able to concentrate on work and today didn´t look to be any different. Still, there were important emails he needed to answer and documents to be signed.

Trying to prevent his mind from wandering off to the next room, the hanyo kept on reading and replying to what seemed to be an endless heap of trash. He hated that part of the job, he would rather spend the whole day working on his computer, writing codes and sometimes attempting to design cool programs for his company. When the buzz of the intercom interrupted this tedious task, he was glad to have an excuse to get up from his desk to answer.

"What is it Shiori?"

"Inuyasha, I´ve got Miss Sakasagami on the line, she says it´s urgent."

"Fine, I´ll talk to her." He was less than happy to receive a phone call from the demoness, this better be important.

A few seconds of silence followed before the annoying feminine voice came through.

"Inuyasha dear, I´m sorry to bother you, you know I wouldn´t dare if I didn´t think it was important. See, a woman has been calling my office all morning, I tried to be nice but you know how much I hate..."

"Cut the bullshit Yura, what do you want?"

He could hear the loud huff she made as she released an exasperated sigh on the speaker. "Some woman has been asking for that Higurashi girl, she says is urgent that she calls home."

He didn´t wait for her to end her ramblings, hanging the phone after hearing what he needed to know, he ran to the next office to give Kagome the message.

"You need to call home right now Kagome."

The raven-haired girl was startled when she heard his voice but got up immediately.

"Did something happen? Is my family ok?" She was already by his side, her eyes demanding him to answer.

"I know nothing woman, don´t you own a cell phone? Your mother should be calling you instead of Yura." He spat out.

Kagome ran to her purse and took out the device. It wasn´t very old but it had seen better days. When she tried to unlock it she realized the battery had died and it needed to be charged, yet again.

"This old thing is dead, I need to charge it, again. Can I borrow your phone?"

The hanyo just nodded his head and moved to the side to let her through the door. The girl passed by him and jumped to his desk grabbing the phone and dialing her mother´s number by heart.

"Mama, it´s Kagome. What happened?"

Inuyasha´s ears twitched towards the woman, his heightened senses enabling him to hear the other part of the conversation. Even before Kagome´s mother spoke he knew something was wrong, the sobbing coming through the line was easily detected by the half demon.

"Oh Kamy, thanks to all heavens you called. It´s grandpa dear, the hospital says there´s a problem with our insurance and he has to leave right now. I don´t know what to do, I called our insurance company but I´ve got no answer."

"That´s not possible mom, they can´t just throw him out. There has to be a mistake." Kagome tried to sound confident but her hands were shaking as she used both of them to hold the receiver. "Tell them I´m coming, they can´t refuse him treatment, I´ll be there soon mama."

By the time she could place the receiver on its place, Kagome was shaking all over, her eyes clouded by unshed tears.

"C´mon, I´ll drive you there." Inuyasha didn´t hesitate to volunteer.

She didn´t even bother to think of refusing him, it would be wasting precious time. She needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible, her family needed her and Inuyasha was there to offer his help.

_

They arrived at the hospital in no time, walking as fast as Kagome could manage, their hands intertwined since the girl had nervously started to bite her nails and Inuyasha just reached out and grabbed said hand. She had stopped the nail-biting, holding his hand with both of hers. The young girl had put up a brave front for her mother but she knew that if they had exceeded the amount their insurance covered, there was not much they could do. Since her grandfather´s first stroke, her family had been struggling with their finances, every penny she could save went to the hospital bills. Kagome worried about her mother´s health too, the constant worrying was taking a toll on her strength too.

Holding the hanyo´s hand she felt some of its warmth covered her like a blanket, it would have to suffice to face her problems.

"Mother?" She called when she found the familiar figure standing in the hallway. When the woman turned around, the paleness of her face confirmed Kagome´s fears. "I´m here mom."

Inuyasha let go of the hand and immediately missed its light weight and softness but still, he remained a few steps behind while mother and daughter embraced.

"This is Inuyasha Takahashi, we work together. We used his car to get here faster." He heard Kagome´s shaky voice introducing him and gave a small bow in Mrs. Higurashi´s direction, only then daring to make eye contact.

"Nice to meet you." The older woman said, her soft gaze turning from her daughter to him. "And thank you for driving my daughter."

"Mother, what can I do? Who did you talk to? Is there any way we could reduce costs or expand our coverage?"

"Kagome dear, slow down. I talked to the hospital director, they are not throwing him out for the time being, though the bill could send us straight to bankruptcy."

From the place he was standing, Inuyasha could easily hear their conversation, his gazed fixed on Kagome´s face as the growing anxiety turned her lovely features into a grimace. He felt his stomach churn at the sight, he just wanted to take her into his arms and tell her that everything would be fine.

Clearing his throat loudly and taking a couple of steps forward, Inuyasha finally spoke.

"Kagome, if you have problems with your grandpa´s insurance, you can use the one the company provides you."

Both women turned to him with wide eyes, expecting him to tell them more about the company´s policy.

"Let me call Shiori so she can check your plan. I´m sure there is no problem. SNT is affiliated with Shinsan Insurance, as well as some major hospitals and labs."

He turned to his phone then and moved back to make the call, missing the portray of relief on the Higurashi women faces.

"Thank goodness!" Mrs. Higurashi hugged her daughter finally relaxing after the long hours of stress. "The Kamis have sent us an angel, who is your friend dear?"

"He´s my boss actually," Kagome answered, her eyes still moistened with unshed tears. "But yes, he seems to be sent to save me." She broke the hug and looked into her mother´s eyes."I mean us." She corrected.

Now that she thought about it, it seemed very accurate. Ever since the day they met, Inuyasha had been there for her. Only remembering how generous he was to his employees made Kagome feel better about accepting his help. _"He´s just a good guy, that's all."_ She had to remind herself.

"Mother, you look beyond tired. Why don´t you let me stay here tonight? We still have to sort things out with our insurance. Go home and rest, please."

Mrs. Higurashi wiped the rogue tear that rolled down her cheek with the back of her hand and sighed.

"That would be great dear, I´ll let you take care of everything. I´ll just go home, take a long bath and sleep on my own bed. I´ll be here early tomorrow. Thank you so much, sweetheart."

_

The door to Dr. Ikeda´s office opened and Kagura entered without knocking.

"It worked. Inuyasha´s secretary just contacted Shinsan to expand the girl´s coverage."

The old doctor put down his pen and looked up to his assistant, a pleased  
grin gracing his shriveled face.

"Good, everything is going according to plan. I´ll need to contact Dr. Suikotsu sooner than I expected."


	12. Chapter 12 Family Bonds

Hello my lovelies! I know I say this every time, but this chapter has really taken a long time to finnaly reach your eyes, I am so sorry to keep you waiting. It has been a tough year and life is kicking my butt. At least I got to publish an update before the end of the year and give you something for Christmas, as a thank you for your patience and for your kind words. Every new review leaves me wanting to give you more and more, sadly it takes some time.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, it doesn´t have any smut, I had to leave it for the next chapter so I could finally post this one before the end of 2018, but there is some heart warming fluff to make up, hopefully.

DISCLAIMER: I don´t own any of the charachters of Inuyasha, they belong to the very talented Rumiko Takahashi.

CHAPTER 12: Family Bonds

"Well, do you love him or not?"

Kikyo paced her father´s office nervously, a manicured fingernail stuck between her pearly white teeth.

"That´s not the point father. I´m not even sure I ever fell in love with him. I just accepted your suggestion, he was kind to me and I was so lonely."

The doctor got up from his chair behind his desk and walked to her, his movements smooth and calmed as if he was approaching a spooked animal.

"Then why does it bother you that he´s moving on?"

She froze midstep, a look of bewilderment crossing her features.

"It should be me, father! I should be the one moving on and falling in love."

"So, you believe he´s in love?" Onigumo´s interest was spiked.

" I don´t care about him!" She sat down and looked at her father in the eyes, contempt evident in their brown depths. " He keeps saying that he´s willing to marry me, that we could still try to have a normal life." Kikyo sighed and covered her face with her hands, her fingers rubbing at nonexisting tears. "As if I could ever go back to normal. And it´s all his fault! I will never let him be happy if I can not be happy."

Onigumo crossed the small distance between them and place a bony hand on Kikyo´s shoulder.

"I believe I have let you try to solve this on your own and you have been suffering too long. Maybe it is time we pay a visit to Dr. Suikotsu."

"Father, I think you have too much faith in this doctor, he´s not even a psychologist!"

"Well, he did an outstanding job at the hospital, plus he´s had an excellent record with nervous patients before."

Onigumo didn´t need to tell his daughter the method preferred by Suikootsu, or what kind of hospital he had been running. He just needed her relaxed and accommodating, at least while he took care of Inuyasha.

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His nose kept twitching at the sanitized environment, trying desperately to follow a scent that wasn´t there.

One step at a time, he approached the figure in the bed, the sounds of the machines attached to the fragile body piercing his sensitive years.

"Inuyasha..."

The soft, quivering sound, though weaker than ever before, was unmistakably his mother´s voice. And yet, the frail shell her body had become, didn´t seem to belong to his mother. Inuyasha couldn´t move from his spot.

"My boy, you came to see me."

The pale figure connected to the noisy instruments extended her shaking hand and the little boy was compelled to her side. Very gently, plump, little, clawed fingers wrapped around a bony pale hand and the young hanyo started to sob softly, his hot tears trickling down his chubby childish face.

"Mommy! I missed you so much."

"Shhh, don´t cry my child. Everything will be fine."

"But mommy I want you to come home with me."

"Everything will be fine."

"Mommy?"

"Everything will be fine."

The flicker of a sunbeam hit his eye and Inuyasha woke with a startle.

 _"Where am I?"_ From his position on the couch, his eyes recognized the ceiling of a hospital room, the last memory of his mother fading slowly in his mind eye.

 _"Mother."_ The unpolluted atmosphere must have triggered memories he hadn´t visited in years.

A sigh escaped his lips as he felt a heavy knot begin forming in his throat and he lifted a hand to soothe the feeling. He couldn´t move though, something warm was currently snuggled on his chest. The hanyo lifted his head and tried to make out the soft form under the mass of dark, tangled hair.

"Kagome."

He remembered now how he had gotten himself in this position. After taking Kagome to the hospital and seeing that her grandpa´s situation had been solved, Kagome decided to stay the night with her grandpa to check that he was really fine and he had just stayed with her for a while. They had been sitting on this couch, sharing some instant ramen, spending some time together and hearing stories of the old man´s life. He didn´t want to go home and leave her alone, he was going to stay for a while only.

Inuyasha brushed her rebel tresses with his claws, softly and carefully, the warm feeling in his chest threatening to make his heart explode. It felt so right to have her in his arms like this, as if she belonged there, with him. It was easy to imagine but would he ever be free to claim her as his? And would she take him as hers? He couldn´t possibly know, but as long as she didn´t wake up, he could pretend it was true.

Leaning his head to the side he could get a better view of her profile. Sooty eyelashes spreading in a crescent above her pale skin, the cute button nose and the provocative line of her cherry lips. Unable to resist the urge to touch her, he extended his hand and traced her chin with his thumb, continuing up the apple of her cheeks and putting a strand of hair behind the delicate shell of her ear.

"Kagome." He was unable to refrain from whispering her name, it felt oh so sweet on his tongue when he finally did.

As if she had been on a trance and his calling her name had brought her out of it, the young woman slowly lifted her head from his chest and blinked in confusion, her eyes tracing an invisible line up his face, finally settling on his eyes.

"Inuyasha."

He hadn´t moved his hand from her face and now he was cupping her cheek, his thumb idly caressing it. Kagome was transfixed by the warm glow of his eyes, the fire in its depths warming the coldest corners of her soul. Even if she had been able, she lacked the will to move, Kagome felt at home right there in his arms.

 _"Kami, he´s so gorgeous!"_ Was the first thought that came to her mind. The early morning sun reflected in his irises highlighting the gold in them. And he was looking at her like she was the most interesting thing in the world.

Kagome wanted him to kiss her, better yet she wanted to kiss him so badly. In spite of all the problems she needed to take care of, all her fears and bad experiences, at the moment she just wanted to leave all that behind and smash her lips against his.

Inuyasha was lost in her warm dark eyes, without noticing it he was leaning forward, his nose only a breath apart from hers.

"Inuyasha..."

Her soft voice speaking his name brought him back to the present.

"I can´t...we shouldn´t." Her voice sounded so weak, not really convincing him to let go.

Just as he felt the warmth of her hand over the one that was on her cheek, his forehead made contact with hers and he closed his eyes, letting her rousing scent fill his lungs and soothe his racing heart.

"I know..." He slowly exhaled the air warming her cheek in the process. "...we shouldn´t."

"YOUKAI!" The rough scream almost knocked them both off the couch, their bodies shrinking into the couch, Inuyasha´s years flattening on top of his head.

"Let go of my granddaughter." The voice demanded.

It took Kagome a few seconds to realize her gramps was awake and was upset to find a half demon in his room.

"Kagome, hand me my spirit wards!"

The girl promptly got up and tried to calm the old man.

"I´ll go find some breakfast." Inuyasha excused himself, suddenly feeling like a young boy caught red-handed with his first girlfriend.

Just as Kagome had managed to settle her grandfather down, her mother entered the room looking well rested and smiling.

"Good morning father, I see your spirits are up again. Did he let you sleep at all Kagome?"

"Oh he slept like a baby, he just woke up and he was surprised to see Inuyasha, that´s all."

"I tell you, my ofudas will keep him at bay."

"Grandpa, be quiet. Inuyasha is not dangerous. He´s my boss!"

Nodding his head while examining his granddaughter, the old man finally accepted she had not been attacked and settled down.

"Your boss is still around?" Mrs. Higurashi inquired, finding it a little odd that her daughter´s boss had been so kind to her the day before to the point of staying the night and following morning " Are you sure there´s nothing you need to tell me, dear?"

A light shade of pink started spreading from her neck upwards forcing Kagome to turn her face away from her mother in order to hide it.

"I don´t know what you mean mama, I still have a fiancé, remember?" It felt so wrong lying to her mother. Still, Kagome didn´t want to tell her mother the details of her relationship with Inuyasha.

"Ah, yes. How is Hojo doing these days?" The older woman knew there was something Kagome wasn´t telling her, she only wanted her daughter to open up by herself.

"Well, he has been...busy. But we are going out tonight, as usual." It wasn´t a lie. She was seeing Hojo tonight and she would gather the will to end their almost nonexisting relationship.

"So, you are going on a date tonight?"

Inuyasha froze at the door, _"Did I hear right? Is she really dating someone tonight?"_

"Oh, Mr. Taisho, come in." Mrs. Higurashi turned her face to greet Inuyasha and missed the expression on Kagome´s face when she heard the hanyo was standing there. " How nice of you to stay with my daughter. And you brought her coffee too."

The half-demon tried to suppress his bewilderment, he wanted to know more, but now was hardly the time or place to interrogate Kagome.  
"Actually, this one is for you. I have to leave now." He handed the styrofoam cups to the older woman and left without saying another word.

Kagome wanted to run after him, ask him if he was fine or if he heard what her mother said. She should explain her situation to Inuyasha, she knew as much, the mere thought of baring herself to him petrified her.

An audible sigh escaped Kagome´slips and her mother turned her full attention to her.

"Are you alright sweetheart?"

"Umm, yes mama. I´m fine." Still unable to confront her own feelings, she didn´t want to burden her mother as well. "I´m just tired, that´s all."

"Well, you should go home now and rest. You need to be fine tonight for your date."

"Yes, my date." She swallowed a lump in her throat, another thing to dread adding to her list.

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Ding-dong

The sound echoed in the walls of the vast hall as Inuyasha impatiently rang the bell for the third time when the oak door was finally opened.

"Ah, master Inuyasha, I should have known it was you."

With his hand still on the doorknob, a small old man stepped aside and bow his head as he let the silver-haired hanyo in.

"You´re getting too slow, old man."

"My apologies my lord. It´s nice to see you. Your brother is in the study just wait..."

"I didn´t come to see him Myoga. I came to see you."

"Me?" The old man´s big bulging eyes seemed to become larger with astonishment. "I´m flattered, my lord. Come to sit in the living room."

"Cut the crap, will ya. Let´s go to the kitchen, I don´t want to be interrupted."

Inuyasha followed as the pudgy youkai led the way, their steps muffled by the thick carpets covering the floors. He knew his way around this house, the arabesques, and serpentines of the antique furniture that his father had purchased ages ago and his brother refused to change.

The kitchen, on the other hand, looked like taken from an ad for modern appliances, everything was shiny and new.

Taking a stool and sitting across the bar, Inuyasha waited for Myoga to sit down in front of him before speaking.

"How much do you remember about my mother?"

"Your mother Sir?" Myoga seemed surprised at the question, it took him a couple of seconds to get his thoughts together. "Well, she was a kind beautiful lady, devoted to you and your father." The little old man smiled at the fond memory. "Your father used to say that he could hear the smile in her voice, he didn´t even need to see her in order to know that she was actually smiling."

Patience had never been one of Inuyasha´s virtues, but the picture Myoga´s words painted made it a little easier for him.

"Was she healthy?" He asked without more preambles. "I mean before she was ill, before I was born."

"Mmm..." Myoga put a finger to his chin. " I don´t remember seeing her ill, even after childbirth, she had been extremely healthy before cancer hit her."

"I didn´t think this through." The hanyo seemed to talk to himself to himself. "Maybe you´re too old and can´t remember those days. I better talk to Onigumo, he must have treated her since the day she joined the family."

"How dare you! Let me tell you one thing, my mind is in perfect shape, thank you very much!" Myoga didn´t appreciate being called old, after all, he was only 800 years old. "And as a proof, ´ll share some more information with you. Dr. Onigumo was the family´s doctor for many years but he didn´t treat your mother after your father died. I bet you didn´t even know that, huh?"

"Why wouldn´t he? He took care of my mother in her final days, I can´t believe she was treated by someone else in such a delicate time."

"Now that you mention it, it was strange. The doctor disappeared for a couple of months following my masters passing."

A sudden change in the atmosphere announced Inuyasha and Myoga their little chat had come to an end.

"Hello, little brother. You finally found your place in this house or you just trying to avoid me?" 


	13. Chapter 13 Anger

13- Anger

Hello everybody! Hope you had been doing great. I´m still struggling to write more than a few words every day so I can share them with you. Again, no smut in this chapter, it was getting too long so I´ll leave it for the next one. Let´s get on with the story.

 **Disclaimer** : I still don´t own Inuyasha, too bad.

Adding a little more crimson, the result was a drastic improvement to the depth of the pupils.

"That´s more like it!" Kagome congratulated herself as she took a step back and examined her work.

It had been months since she had felt like painting. The size of her apartment didn´t help. She had to move the furniture, a low table, a chest of drawers and the folded futon, to a small pile on one side to make room for her easel. Then, leaving all her worries aside, she took her brushes and here she was now, exorcising her demons through the canvas.

 _"Well, it´s only one demon!"_

She had always found great comfort in art. Creating something would definitely take her off her mind her many current problems. She felt she could reach nirvana if she were allowed to paint to her heart´s content.

Sadly, she´d had to leave soon if she wanted to be on time for her date with Hojo. She didn´t need much time to get ready, she had decided that a quick shower and a clean outfit was all she needed, after all, one doesn´t dress up to break off an engagement, even one as loose as hers and Hojo´s.

Taking one last look at the foggy image on the canvas she smiled satisfied and proud of her work. She felt invigorated now, a feeling she had almost forgotten lately. Her body felt lighter and her mind was more focused after letting free her artistic side.

Since Inuyasha left the hospital in the morning, Kagome had been avoiding thinking too much about him and what was going on between them. Now that she had cleared her mind, she knew what she needed to do. Once this date was over, she would be free again. She would follow Sango´s advice and try to get to know Inuyasha better, see where their relationship would take them.

Humming happily after cleaning her brushes, Kagome took off her paint-stained clothes and stepped under the hot drizzle, for once excited about her future.

"Hello aniki, I´m so honored you decided to grace this kitchen with your presence." Inuyasha tried to keep a straight face as he bowed to his older brother.

"You never fail to surprise me, ototo. Are you really hiding from me? Or do you want to help with the dishes?" Sesshomaru calmly asked.

If he was disturbed or annoyed, no one would be the wiser. While Inuyasha did very little to control his emotions, Sesshomaru was the exact opposite. He always tried to hide them behind a mask of perfection which his little brother kept trying to take off of his face.

"Keh! I was just visiting Myoga, that´s all."

Inuyasha just shrugged and dismissed his brother´s inquisitions. The bastard didn´t need to know every little detail of his life. He turned his back to his brother and was about to say goodbye to the old servant when he heard Sesshomaru sniffing his hair.

"You reek of a human female and it´s not Onigumo´s daughter. What are you getting into little brother?"

A sudden wave of rage washed over Inuyasha. Who did this bastard thought he was?

"You stay out of it, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha turned back to face his brother so fast it almost gave him whiplash. "If you think you have any right to meddle in my life, you don´t. You have never acted as a big brother so fuck off now!"

"Believe me, little brother, I do not wish to get mixed in your liaisons." Sesshomaru had to take a deep breath to control his anger now. "However, we have barely recovered from your small affair with Kikyo. I suggest you be more cautious this time around and leave the company out of your sex life."

The words felt like a punch to his gut, leaving him bent over and gasping for breath. Inuyasha could still remember those days perfectly. On top of losing his child and being rejected by his fiance, he had to deal with Onigumo threatening to sell his shares and end the partnership with the Takahashi family. Sesshomaru was frantic trying to avoid being taken over by a bigger corporation, he went to all lengths to secure Dr. Ikeda´s stock wasn't sold to an outsider. It was weeks of bargaining and negotiations until they finally gave in to the doctor´s demands of more funding for his labs and a new wing for his hospital.

And as usual, Sesshomaru was sure to let Inuyasha know what a disappointment his little brother was, only bringing problems his way. Inuyasha was livid, he wanted to punch his brother´s face. Instead, he swallowed his rage and took a step back.

"It was great seeing you Myoga-jiji. I have to leave now, see you."

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"Welcome Dr. Ikeda, have a seat, please."

The younger doctor bowed respectfully before pulling the chair on the other side of his desk.

"Thank you, Dr. Kimura. As I told you over the phone, it is urgent that you treat my daughter."

Suikotsu smiled, he had been waiting for an opportunity to get closer to Dr. Ikeda, this was the chance he had been waiting for. They had worked together in a few occasions but this time Suikotsu realized he needed to use the old doctor´s influence, and his lab, to keep his current schemes running.

"I´ll be happy to assist you and your daughter. I studied the medical record you sent and we are already looking into her situation."

"Good, she´s waiting outside. You can start right away. I give you a month to get her in decent enough shape. If she´s not ready then, you can have her committed."

"A month?" Suikotsu hadn´t even sat and he was already standing. " That´s not enough time."

"That´s all I´m willing to wait. We have wasted enough time already." Doctor Ikeda too was already on his feet, not wanting to stay another minute in the tiny office. "Also, I would like that girl to be tested ASAP, we need to be ready before they can even think we are doing something."

"I´ll get my associates working on that immediately." Suikotsu walked the older man to the door. " You can send your daughter in now."

The second the brunette entered the room and made eye contact with the doctor, the atmosphere seemed to get charged between them. Kikyo smiled warmly, she got the feeling this was the start of a very important part of her life and the doctor just smiled back at her as if confirming her thoughts.

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Finding an empty spot, Inuyasha parked his car near Kagome´s building and killed the engine. He had debated with himself for the best part of the afternoon whether he should stay away from Kagome or run to her.

After his fortuitous meeting with his brother, his feelings were a chaotic mess. The memories of his mother´s death had been stirred back to life thanks to Kikyo. Talking to Myoga had only served to bring about new questions. Seeking a way to quiet down the turmoil in his head he had thought of Kagome and how calm he had felt with her by his side that very same morning. Then he found himself missing her way too much. He had tried calling her but the call never went through. It probably had to do with that phone of hers  
which was an old piece of useless crap.

 _"I should get her a new one."_ Thus, he decided to go shopping for a new phone.

His first choice had been a top of the line smartphone like his own, but then he recalled how uncomfortable she was with him buying her new clothes, so he opted for something more humble, like the one he had got for Shippo and Shiori.

The impromptu shopping trip had served to take his mind off the anxiousness he had been feeling all day. Now he just needed to knock on her door and give her the damn thing. Easy, wasn´t it?

He looked up to the window of her apartment and finding it dark, he relived the conversation between Mrs. Higurashi and her daughter.

 _"Is she really on a date?"_

He still couldn´t believe she would be doing it. He knew for a fact she wasn´t involved with anyone, he would have smelled any hint of male on her. This didn´t mean she would be meeting someone new, or that they hadn't seen each other for a while. Inuyasha wasn´t so naive.

Yet, he didn´t think Kagome was that kind of woman. On the contrary, she appeared to be quite inexperienced.

The hanyo let out a sigh. " I shouldn´t be thinking about that. I just came to give her the phone."

 _"You keep telling yourself that."_

That annoying voice again! When will he get rid of it?

He was about to curse that damned voice when he saw a couple walking down the street. It was dark, he couldn´t smell the woman from here. He should get out of the car and make sure.

"Thank you for your frankness Kagome-chan. I wouldn´t have dared take the first step. Honestly, I´m just so confused, I don´t even know what to do with my life."

"Don´t worry Hojo-kun. You will figure it out. You just need to take time for yourself."

Kagome smiled fondly to her now ex-boyfriend. They felt at ease walking down the street together, like old friends.

"This is so much better than trying to force a relationship. I feel I can finally relax around you."

"You know we can remain as friends, don´t you? I´ll always be there for you."

"I would like that very much."

They had arrived at her front door by then and Kagome could feel the man getting fidgety.

"What is it?"

When she got no answer from him and he remained looking at his feet, Kagome insisted.

"Come on Hojo, you know you can trust me."

Finally, he made eye contact.

"I just wanted to ask a favor of you, if you don´t mind."

He was flushed and uncomfortable, she could see that even in the dark sidewalk. She didn´t stop there to ponder on it before they climbed a couple of steps and finally, they were standing at her door, facing each other.

"The thing is I was comfortable with you because you didn´t force me to question my life choices. Because of that, I have been avoiding even thinking about it."

"So, what can I do to help you?" Kagome asked intrigued.

"Would you let me kiss you?" Hojo rushed his request before he lost confidence.

"Oh!" To say she was shocked was an understatement. "I...did not expect that."

Kagome took a moment to evaluate his request. It was just a kiss, a small form of intimacy. Hojo had kissed her a few times before, just a peck on the cheek, that was all. The fierce, unstoppable, raw passion she had shared with Inuyasha could never be compared with those chaste exchanges. This was an opportunity to prove her own feelings too.

"Ok, you may kiss me."

The girl took a deep breath as she felt the male form approach her, she closed her eyes. The moment his mouth came in contact with hers, she was already regretting this experiment. There was nothing there, not even a tiny spark. Hojo´s lips felt cold and apathetic, she felt she was going to be sick if he kept this going. Kagome was about to pull away when she heard a thunderous, menacing growl and felt the weight of Hojo´s body being jerked away from her before a muffled scream escaped the young man´s mouth. Opening her eyes she was shocked to find a long mane of silver hair and the weak shape of a young man´s body being forcefully strangled against a wall by a powerful clawed hand.

"Inuyasha!"

The half-demon could barely hear her over the murderous rage ringing in his ears and the very satisfying gurgling sounds coming from the pathetic human whose life he was about to end.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?"

The woman was now using her own hands to try and free his victim from his deadly grip. The desperate sounds coming from her mouth finally made it to his ears.

"Please, I beg you, let him go! You are hurting him."

Making a supreme effort, the hanyo released his prey and punch the glass door in frustration. Kagome rushed to make sure the human wasn´t badly hurt, kneeling down next to his scattered frame on the sidewalk.

"Hojo-kun, are you ok?" She fumbled with the lapels of the guy´s shirt, loosening his tie in an attempt to facilitate breathing for him, his breath coming in and out between ragged bursts and cough.

The hanyo, on the other hand, was taking in big, deep puffs of air at a time, trying to control the fury that threatened to take over him. To see the woman helping the other male stand on his feet was not helping. Resentful of her actions, he growled again.

"I´m fine Kagome-chan." His eyes widened in terror at the sight of the half-demon pacing in front them like a caged lion waiting for an opportunity to launch his attack. The fact that the demon seemed to know Kagome and that her body blocking his path made him feel safer "He´s bleeding, I think you should take care of his arm."

Kagome turned with a horrified expression on her face, shifting her attention to the bleeding cut on Inuyasha´s left wrist.

"Oh my God, Inuyasha, you are hurt too! Let me call an ambulance, you both need medical attention."

"I´m fine wench." He managed to speak through greeted teeth. "And he shouldn´t be in too bad a shape, I didn´t use enough force to hurt him."

"It´s true, he just knocked the wind out of my lungs for a moment. I´m not hurt." Hojo offered while Kagome used her own sweater to bandage the injured appendage.

"Actually, I think I need to walk and take some fresh air. You think you can handle him alone?" He asked Kagome more to reassure himself than out of fear for her safety. He could tell the youkai wasn't a threat to her wellbeing.

"Don´t worry Hojo, I trust him. He will never hurt me."

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Ok, I´ll just gonna stop here.

I have the whole scene planned but I didn´t want to make this chapter much longer than the rest. Also, the shorter, the sooner I can update.

Hope to have the next one ready soon.

I love reading your thoughts on it, thank you for reviewing!


	14. Chapter 14 Wildfire

First of all I have to apologize for this one. It has been giving me hell to upload it.

Let´s get on with it.

WARNING: Adult content ahead, if you are underage or you don´t enjoy this kind of Reading you should leave now.

DISCLAIMER: All the charachters belong to Rumiko Takahashi

14- Wildfire

"I told you, I´m fine."

"Sure you are. And the stuff staining my sweater is just red wine."

Kagome still couldn´t digest what had happened a few minutes before in her doorstep. She of all people, having two males fighting for her attention. Also unbelievable, nobody had bothered to check on them.

"The people in this building sure are used to loud noises. No one poked their heads out to see what the commotion was all about." Speaking as if he was reading her mind and disregarding all the previous events, Inuyasha let the girl guide him through the stairs, then through the door, into her tiny apartment until they reached the sink.

Kagome took the hand wrapped in her bloody sweater and placed it in the sink, gently unwrapping the sticky folds of the garment and opening the faucet to let the water clean the area. She left Inuyasha standing there while she ran to the back looking for her first aid kit.

The hanyo just let her do as she pleased for the moment. He had succeeded in sending the other guy on his way and that had considerably lightened his mood. Besides, standing in her kitchen and cocooned by her soothing scent, his anger had receded to a minimum level by now.

"It´s not safe." He mumbled to the open door where the girl had just disappeared.

He took a moment to let his gaze sweep the tiny studio. It was clean and tidy, with only the essential pieces of furniture. He was standing at the kitchen sink on the opposite wall from the door, next to it there was a small two burner stove, adjoining to it the fridge with a microwave oven on top of it. There were a few cabinets underneath where he supposed the pots and pans would be and a small window behind the sink. In the center of the apartment, there was a low table and a few cushions laying around it. The only other furniture was a closet, where she must keep her futon and a chest of drawers underneath a larger window, where he could see a telephone and an ancient looking laptop.

There was something else facing the window, he realized. It was an easel that he presumed had been strategically placed there to take advantage of the daylight. He walked towards it, his curiosity taking advantage of him. The image of red, vicious eyes greeted him from the canvas.

"What?" Kagome´s voice made him turn around again. It sounded like she was inside a box.

Inuyasha spoke louder this time.

"I said it´s not safe. The neighborhood, I mean." He finished the sentence in a softer voice as he saw her appear with bandages, towels and a bottle of some medicine.

"Of course it isn´t! If you are going to jump to the throat of an unsuspecting man-" Kagome grabbed his good hand and dragged him to the sink again.

"He was kissing you!" Now his voice was loud again.

"And you thought you should kill him to stop that?"

"Oi! I only scared him, if I had wanted to kill him, he would be dead! And what were you thinking? You just stood there and let him do whatever he wanted with you?"

"As a matter of fact, he asked me very politely and I said yes."

"So you just let any guy who asks kiss you?"

Kagome was standing in front of him now, after putting down the bandages and bottles on the counter top. She looked up into his eyes, her eyes burning him with defiance, unable to utter words through her tightly sealed lips.

"I would have never thought you were that kind of-"

"Watch it dogboy!" She said lifting a menacing finger in front of him. "And you are the one to talk! You forgot I just run into you and your girlfriend!"

She was raising her voice now, still no signs of any nosy neighbor.

"That was different!"

"Because you are a man? You think you are allowed to go from girl to girl-"

"I was just comforting her!"

Oh, no.

He had screamed at her now! Kagome was so shocked she couldn´t move. She reacted soon, her attention focused on his arm now. They could argue later.

She took the wet arm and wrapped a clean towel around it, dabbing lightly around where the wound was supposed to be, only she couldn´t find it.

"What happened here?" She asked lifting his shirt´s sleeve and trying to find the source of the bleeding, which had disappeared from his arm.

"I told you I was fine." Inuyasha just showed her the fainting pink line where the cut had been. "I´m hanyo, remember?"

Unbelievable, there were barely a few fainting marks on his wrist. The only sign of his cutting himself was the blood stain on the shredded pieces of his sleeve.

They were standing so close Inuyasha was almost overwhelmed by her fragrance. It was so strong that it rose above that of the water washing his own blood down the drain.

 _"It hasn´t changed! She doesn't smell of that guy, if anything, she smells more of me."_

This thought changed his mind, and his mood, in a second.

"Did you really want him to kiss you?" His voice was merely a whisper now, so afraid of the answer, yet he needed to know.

For a moment, he thought she might not have heard him due to the long silence that followed.

"It was an experiment." Kagome finally answered. A shaking sigh escaping her lips before she dared meet his smoldering gaze. Her voice was as quiet as his. "I just wanted to see if he could make me feel the same way you do."

Kagome´s cheeks were feeling warmer after that statement, her heart gaining speed and her blood rushing through her veins.

"And what do I make you feel?" Inuyasha demanded to know. He took one step closer to her, his nose already telling him the answer but he wanted to hear her say it out loud.

Hungry? Needy? Aroused? What would better describe the feeling wrecking havoc in her senses and turning her to putty in his hands?

Without breaking eye contact, Kagome gave him the best answer that came to mind.

"Alive." She whispered against his lips not knowing if he was the one closing the gap between their bodies or herself. It made no difference, in a second their lips had met and she lost control of her body, surrendering her will to Inuyasha´s command.

The kiss started soft, their mouths molding each other´s, his fangs gently grazing her plump lower lip while his hands flew to her waist and rested there for a second. Letting out a sigh, Kagome opened her mouth and granted his tongue access while hers traced the contours of his fangs. Inuyasha doubted for a moment, fearing she would feel menaced by his canines. They could tear up flesh, he didn´t doubt it, no need to prove that fact. He was about to pull away when he felt a pair of dainty hands flattening on his chest and then traveling up his neck to find purchase in the back of his head while kagome deepened the kiss. She was wearing flats so she had to stand on her tiptoes just to reach his height. Inuyasha was well aware of that fact, a part of him had been glad to find out she wasn´t wearing heels or any of the sexier outfits they had chosen together.

While the girl´s soft body seemed to melt against him, his own body reacted by hardening in very specific areas. Moving her feminine form around his hardness, his hands previously placed on her lower back slid down to cup the soft roundness of her rump.

The soft meowls she was letting out were adding fuel to the fire that burned in his gut. Inuyasha let her take control of the kiss as he shifted her legs to lock behind his back before moving them to the low table a few feet away. By the time they reached their destination, Kagome had managed to unbutton his shirt and was running her palms underneath the fabric eliciting a low rumble from the hanyo.

Inuyasha kneeled down and carefully deposited Kagome on the low table letting her trace his neck with scorching wet kisses as their hips softly ground against each other. His hands placed themselves on her calves and started caressing them, running his palms up and down her shapely legs. When Kagome´s lips found the way back to his mouth, he was hungrier than the first time. Not getting enough of the kisses, his tongue descended down the column of her neck, his hands temporarily leaving her legs to unbutton the front of her blouse. Her bra covered breast rising and falling in time with her heavy breathing made him stop for a moment as a thought crossed his mind.

"You want me to go on?"

His voice was raspy and low sending a wave of warmth down Kagome´s spine, her heavy-lidded gaze colliding with the melting honey of his irises. She wanted to talk but her voice refused to come forth, so she just nodded and Inuyasha wasted no time resuming the adoration of her breasts. He ran his thumbs over the cotton fabric of her bra while his fingers cupped the flesh until twin peaks were visible underneath. His mouth was soon taking the place of his thumbs, nibbling the aroused flesh through the fabric. He felt a tug in his ears as Kagome´s hands gently rubbed the soft fur covering them. The motion of her fingers distracted him for a second and he had to suppress a groan from escaping his lips.

Returning to his ministrations on her breasts, Inuyasha unclipped the garment guarding her bosom and finally was able to touch the sensitive skin with his dexterous fingers. With an almost imperceptible shiver and a moan, Kagome arched her back surrendering to the caress of his sizzling tongue.

Her body was slowly becoming just a heated mass and there was nothing she could do to escape his will, neither did she want to do anything. This time she knew what to expect and was willing to withstand his relentless passion. Kagome clung to the hanyo´s broad shoulders, Inuyasha retaliated by moving his hands to the hem of her skirt and running the tips of his claws while lifting the floral, multi-colored length wrapped around her shins. Upon reaching the apex of her legs, Inuyasha found another barrier. Hooking his fingers on the border he pulled down the already damp cloth with Kagome´s eager assistance, discarding it on the floor.

Finally, he had uncovered the center of her womanhood. He wanted nothing more than to dip his tongue and sample her taste, his cock aching with every inhale of the now stronger scent. Extremely mindful of his talons, he used his finger´s pads to spread the slippery folds, grinning to himself when his eyes feasted on the delicate flesh.

"It´s as pink and fragrant as I have been picturing it to be."

His voice sounded hoarse, making Kagome shiver in answer.

The pad of his thumb started to rub circles over her already inflamed clit and Kagome could not refrain from moaning out loud.

"I want to see how you do it." He asked her.

"What?"

"Touch yourself, show me how you like it."

Kagome felt her face burning, she couldn´t possibly consent to such an outrageous demand. She would likely die of pure shame.

"I... I can´t." Her voice was barely a feeble whisper.

Inuyasha didn´t answer, he reached his hand and grabbed hers in a delicate but firm grip.

"I´ll show you what I did after I smelled your fingers." He smiled at her when her incredulous look collided with his. "I couldn't help it." He spoke softly against her lips before searing her mouth an ardent kiss while his hand placed hers where he wanted it to be.

Kagome closed her eyes, to avoid the intensity in his eyes, her face still in flames but her mind made up. Inuyasha could hear a small whine as she gave in to his demands, her fingers gently sinking in her core as her other hand joined and started slowly rubbing the pink nub on top.

Inuyasha unzipped his pants and released his throbbing erection, his right hand lazily stroking its length. Seeing this extremely erotic show taking place in front of her Kagome had to stop touching herself to extend her index finger and gently follow the trickling on the mushroom-like head.

A loud growl resonated on the silent apartment making Inuyasha thankful for the seemingly undisturbed neighbors, for once. The hanyo closed his eye and concentrated on the exquisite feeling of her fingers exploring his girth. It was featherlike soft, a little clumsy and quite innocent, which made his desire for her rise to a higher level.

Unable to hold still for longer, lest he would disgrace himself during her first touch, Inuyasha ducked his head and let his tongue trace the inner side of her thigh, slowly approaching the source of her fragrance. As if hit by lightning, Kagome jolted up to a sitting position.

"Did I hurt you?" Inuyasha inquired with a worried frown crossing his face.

Shaking her head in the negative, Kagome tried to gather her senses to speak up.

"Kagome," he sighed before daring to utter the question "are you a virgin?"

Kagome shook her head again.

"It´s just that-" she had to look away to complete the sentence. "I´ve never tried that before."

"It´s alright. We don´t have to do anything if you are not sure." He paused for a moment waiting for any sign of what she wanted to do. "So, you want me to stop then?"

She found the courage to look him in the eye again, his beautiful golden eyes that warmed her up like a thousand suns.

"No."

It was just one word, a simple but firm declaration that shattered the last remaining pieces of Inuyasha´s restraint.

Without breaking eye contact, the hanyo´s tongue resumed its work, burning a wet trial mid-thigh and moving closer to the apex, intentionally slowing his pace to bask on the delightful scent emanating a few inches from his nose. It was sweet and abundant, and it made him dizzy with lust. He lapped as much as he could from the sensitive flesh before dipping his tongue in her heat. Kagome´s body seemed to wiggle out of control, Inuyasha smirked and placed a hand on her stomach to hold her down, his tongue never leaving her core.

Kagome had to cover her mouth with her own hand in an attempt to stop the strange sounds coming out of it. Still, she couldn´t control her breath and the not so subtle trembling of her limbs, although how could it be possible if she was feeling her bones turning into quicksilver?

The tension building so heavenly tight in her lower body was making it difficult to even breath. Kagome was so entranced by the exquisite torture inflicted by Inuyasha that she didn´t register the faraway sound of a ringing bell, the sound too insisting until it was almost unbearable and she had to turn her head towards the source.

She made an attempt to reach for the telephone, her body not fully responding to her command. Just as her fingers brushed the device, the answering machine took over.

"Kagome-chan, are you there? It´s me Hojo." The phantom voice stopped for a few seconds and Kagome could swear she heard a growl from between her legs at the same time that Inuyasha´s ears perked up in the direction of the other male´s voice. "I´m home already and started worrying about you and the youkai. Maybe I should call the police. I´ll try again."

With the police being mentioned Kagome sat up in a flash but the phone call had ended by then. She got cold all of a sudden. Her neighbors may be oblivious to all the raucous at their front door but it could be inconvenient for some of them to have law enforcement agents around.

As she made to stand up from the table, she felt Inuyasha´s hands grip on her waist and his hot mouth reclaiming hers.

"Inuyasha..." his tongue robbed her of her sanity as it plunged into her mouth giving her a taste of her own flavor on his lips. "I need to call him... I have to... make sure he... doesn´t call the police." He made it difficult to think, talk or even breath properly.

"Mmmm...yeah?" His fangs graced the white column of her neck successfully making her shut her eyes and throw her head back. "Is that so?"

Kagome tried to clear her mind despite the white-hot cloud eclipsing her senses. "Yes... it´s... necessary..."

She was sure he heard her almost fainting whisper even when he gave no signs of stopping his incursion down her neck, to her collarbone and taking a detour to her breasts.

Inuyasha was convinced he had taken her mind from the phone call when soft whimpering replaced her speaking. He took one of the hardened nipples in between his lips and sucked gently on it to reward her. He was finally managing to lay her down on the table again when the persisting ringing resumed.

 _"Fuck!"_ He cursed internally.

Kagome was able to sit down and reach the receiver this time.

"Allo? Hojo-kun?" She almost jumped to her feet oblivious of her almost naked state.

 _"If he thinks he´s taking her away from me, he´s so wrong."_ Inuyasha was not going to let her go now. He had been debating with himself all day, struggling to make up his mind to go to her. Until he saw Kagome with another man. It may be childish and egotistical but he now acknowledged he wanted her more than he had admitted to himself.

Kneeling down in front of her, the hanyo pushed her against the wall and wrapped one of her legs over his shoulder, his tongue parting her wet folds and lapping the sweetness in her core with renewed intensity.

"Ohh... Kami..."

He smirked as he heard her voice fainting again.

"Aahh... yeah... I AM FINE..." Heavy panting followed as Kagome tried to master her breathing while talking on the phone and receiving so much oral pleasure. "Oohh... mmmm... NO... nnno need..." She had to use both hands to hold the receiver in a white knuckle grip, the breath hitched in her throat while she pressed her lips together and slowly exhaled the air from her lungs.

Inuyasha smirked when her eyes looked down into his before slowly and gently introducing one digit into her tight channel.

"Ahhh...yeah! I tell you...mmm...ahh... he won´t...he would never hurt me..."  
It was becoming nearly impossible to try to turn a simple thought into words. Kagome could only feel how the blood drained from her body to flow straight into the apex of her legs with a hot, throbbing ache that menaced to render her completely speechless. "I...mmm...ohhh... I need to... go...oohh...please... bye... mmm"

She could hardly let go of the receiver on its place when her hands grabbed fistfuls of white hair and her other leg followed the same path as the first one over Inuyasha´s shoulder. The half-demon took advantage of his superhuman strength, it enabled him to withstand the mistreat of his scalp and the slight weight of the human girl without distracting him from his objective. He was almost overpowered by her thrusting herself against his hand when he added a second digit inside her moving them to the pace she had set.

Arching her back and no longer caring for the extremely unladylike sounds she was making, Kagome rode his hand as best as her abilities permitted her, searching for that glorious release. Eyes tightly shut and jaw slack, the explosion rocked her body in a chain reaction centered in her core and expanding like wildfire throughout her whole body. Kagome could only moan as wave after wave of pleasure swayed her frame like the wind through the branches of a willow tree.

A smug smile across his face, Inuyasha moved his hands to the slender back of the woman that was going limp against him, sitting her on his lap as he reclined his own back against the wall and peppering gentle kisses on her forehead all the time.

It took a few minutes for the girl to come down from her high. Inuyasha held her safe and tight against his bare chest, his erection still rock hard against her hip. He didn´t mind though. Bringing such ecstasy to a woman was too satisfying, he wouldn´t mind the blue balls this time.

"You still are..." Kagome couldn´t find the words when she was finally able to speak. Her face became red again, it was difficult to put her intentions into coherent sounds, so she tried to carry meaning with her actions. She disentangled herself from Inuyasha´s embrace and kneeled in front of him, her hand gingerly sneaking into his unzipped pants to caress the weeping length hidden under the cloth.

Inuyasha grumbled.

"We don´t have to do anything that you don´t want..."

"I want to, don´t you?" Her innocent looking eyes swept along his crotch and up to his face.

"Can´t you tell?" He gave out a loud sigh. " I´ve been wanting you for too long. I´m not sure I´ll be able to last very long." Another shaky breath. "I don´t have any condoms though, I wasn´t planning..."

Of course, he wasn´t planning, he had promised himself time and time again that he wouldn´t cross that line with her and now seeing her almost naked form, all bets were off.

"It´s ok, we don´t need to go all the way." She said while her fingers encircled his shaft and slowly begin to stroke him in the way he had just shown her.

"Ok, then."

Inuyasha closed his eyes and let his head fall back, using the wall for support. He felt Kagome´s hesitant lips on his collarbone, going up to find the place where his pulse beat stronger and her warm tongue tracing the movement in an almost unbearable touch.

He grunted again.

Kagome smiled satisfied against his heated skin, congratulating herself for remembering the place he had like the first time she had done this.

"I want to taste you too." She said in what she hoped was a seductive voice before tracing her way down his chest, her wet appendage finding his nipple and her lips sucking on it as he had done with hers.

"Oh fuck!" His voice low and hoarse, Inuyasha had to make fists of his hands to prevent from dragging her head to his aching cock.

He didn´t need to. The girl had found the way and her tongue was circling the rim of its head soon enough.

"Ka... Kagome..."

Her mouthed opened to swallow as much of his length as she could while her hands made do with the rest of the palpitating flesh.

"Fuck!" He wanted to thrust into her mouth so bad that he had to bit his lips to distract his mind from her bobbing head in his lap. "Kagome, I can´t hold it anymore... I´m coming."

His hands went to her hair and he dragged her up for a searing kiss while her tender strokes pushed him over the edge and he felt the hot seed spilling from his engorged member.

He broke the kiss to take a much-needed breath of air, his forehead resting against hers as he smiled and gently put a lock of her wild hair behind her ear.

"That was mindblowing."

"Hey! You _can_ smile." Kagome teased him, a bright smile adorning her pretty face.

"I´m not that grumpy!" Inuyasha pretended to be offended. "I´m sorry about this mess."

"Don´t worry, I can throw your clothes in the washer if you want."

"Are you trying to get me naked? I don´t mind if you are matching me."

Kagome blushed profusely.

"You can wear my bathrobe in the meantime."

"You party pooper." He smiled again. "Fine, let´s get cleaned and get something to eat. I´m starving."

"Deal."

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A/N: Well, there you have it. I hope you could finally read it.

I hope you don´t find it too crass but I believe communication is a huge part of a succesful relationship, in this case Kagome has to learn to communicate what she likes or what she dislikes in regards to sex. Inuyasha is just being helpful ; )

Let me know your thoughts about it.

Love,

ALP


	15. Chapter 15 Scents

Hello everybody, I´m back.

I bring you a little fluffy chapter this time, some pure domestic bliss before shit hits the fan. There´s a little smut at the beginning but it´s not a big thing, I don´t think you need a warning.

15- Scents

In the twilight of the bedroom, the two silhouettes were almost fused into just one, him kneeling on the bed with her legs around his waist and his hands grabbing her rounded bottom. The long silver hair draped around both figures giving them an ethereal glow, her darker tresses confounded with the shaded room.

The pale breasts were made visible when the slender woman threw her head back and offered them to the man who traced circles with his tongue around the tip several times before nibbling it with teeth and fangs. The female let out a feeble moan and grabbed fistfuls of the sterling locks demanding more of the delicious torture on her other nipples. The man´s thrusts became deeper and more powerful as he noticed she was close to her climax, which only served to push her closer to it.

When she finally felt the clamping of her inner walls around his hard cock, she put one hand under his chin and moved his mouth away from the hardened peak until her mouth covered his, tongues twirling together.

Gasping for breath, the woman smiled a feline-like grin on her ruby red lips as she delivered a quick peck on the man´s lips and disentangled her body from around his.

"Are you leaving so soon?" The hoarse voice asked in a low tone.

The woman smiled again.

"Sesshomaru dear, you know I would love to stay longer, but I´d prefer to have time to get your scent off my body"

"Is it so disgusting then, to smell me every time you breathe?"

"Not at all, in fact, it is quite arousing. I just want to avoid some other youkai smelling it." The woman started to gather her clothes that were now scattered around the bedroom.

"You are ashamed of this then." He asserted laying back against the pillows.

"I wouldn´t say it like that. It´s just that I don´t want Onigumo to know I have been sleeping with the enemy." She had already put her underwear on

"The enemy?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, his cool facade never displaying any kind of emotion. "Does Onigumo think of me as the enemy?"

Kagura paused only for a second, looking away from the intensity in his eyes. She was convinced Sesshomaru would be able to read a lie in her own eyes, so she better answered with the truth, or as much of the truth she could volunteer at the moment.

"You´ve known him longer than anybody else. Onigumo is a paranoid old man, anyone who doesn´t bend to his will he deems an enemy."

Sesshomaru didn´t answer. He knew he fit the category too well. The only time Onigumo had had any leverage over him was caused by Inuyasha´s silly infatuation with Kikyo and Sesshomaru had vowed to never let anything of the sort happen again. This affair with Kagura had started as a part of his plan to keep his brother away from that woman´s influence. He started seeing Kagura at the same time that the doctor had demanded compensation for her daughter´s loss. The project had been to get intel on Onigumo´s plans. He had always thought that her flirting with him was some similar tactic planned by the old doctor.

Until she uttered that statement.

"If you don´t want Onigumo to find out," he moved from the bed in lightning speed to wrap his arms around the female´s waist, dragging her down on the bed once again, "we can use some bathing salts I got from Mount Hakurei. They are very effective in cleansing yourself of any unwanted residues." He kissed her shoulder as if to finish this conversation but then added. " And of scents as well."

"Really? I thought that mountain was only a myth." She wanted to keep the conversation going but the youkai trailing kisses down the column of her neck was too distracting. "In that case, I think I can stay a little longer."

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The ofuro of her apartment was tiny but to Kagome´s petite frame it had always seemed large enough. In fact, it had been the main reason she had taken an apartment in the most dangerous part of the city. Well, the washer/dryer and the ofuro. Now with a broad-shouldered, muscular hanyo sharing it with her, she could never think it was big enough ever again.

"I think we are clean now." The woman murmured against Inuyasha´s collarbone.

It would have taken only a few minutes if they hadn´t get sidetracked by each other´s body. Fingers searching, kneading and caressing the flesh under the warm stream while they kissed languidly. There was no rush this time around. The urgency wasn´t gone, it was just dormant. Plus, the confinement of the small bath only allowed some minute exploration, any further adventure would have to wait until they were out of the water.

Inuyasha let out an exaggerated sigh.

"If you say so."

Kagome stepped out first, reaching for some towels and starting to dry her body before wrapping one around it and another one in her hair.

"I´m starving."Now that his body had been partially sated, Inuyasha could pay attention to some other basic functions. "You have any snacks or something ready to eat?"

"Mmm..." Kagome thought for a moment of her almost empty fridge and remembering Inuyasha´s huge appetite. "I have some cereal, milk, melonpan... and I think I have some instant ramen too."

"Great! That will do."

"Can you get it ready while I get the laundry started?"

"Sure thing, just let me know where everything is."

"Here." Kagome handed him some pink fluffy piece of cloth. "You´ll need to cover yourself, you know, to prevent accidents in the kitchen."

Inuyasha put on her bathrobe and looked at himself in the mirror.

"So much for coverage."

The garment only reached mid-thigh and left a large part of his chest exposed. Kagome had to cover her mouth to prevent the giggles.

"You´re laughing at me?" He just caught her in his arms and punished her with tickles around her ribcage and backside until Kagome was laughing hysterically, begging him for mercy between sobs.

The ramen was already boiling when Kagome came out of the bath, still wearing the towel around her body, her wet hair hanging loose, and she was carrying a little box in her hands.

"Inuyasha, I found this in your jacket."

"Oh, I almost forgot about that." He took the box from her hands and opened it to show her the case of a brand-new cell phone. "This is why I came here in the first place."

 _"Keep telling that to yourself until you believe it, pal."_ His inner voice interjected again.

"Is it for me?" She extended her hand hesitant for a moment and then withdrew it. "I can´t accept that. It´s too much."

"Don´t be silly. You need to keep in touch with your family." She still looked doubtful. "It´s not the luxury model, it´s the same I got for Shippo and Shiori."

"They have one like this too?"

"Yes, and it belongs to the company too. You´ll have to give it back when your job with us is finished."

The girl looked into his eyes. She didn´t want to think about leaving SNT at the moment.

Reaching out her hands she took the small box, opening to get a good look at the device and studied it for a few seconds and smiled.

"Thank you, Inuyasha, for everything you have done. I really appreciate it."

"Keh, go get your sim card so you can try it, I already charged the thing this afternoon."

Kagome did as she was told and a few moments later the cellphone was ready to use. Inuyasha looked like an excited toddler talking about its new features and how much memory the thing had. After a few seconds demonstrating the most useful apps to download, the hanyo crossed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and stretched the other arm holding the telephone.

Stiffening her body and shoving the white-haired man away, Kagome covered what was visible of the skin of her shoulders with her hands.

"What are you doing?" She spattered at him, her eyes wide open, a shocked look in her pupils.

"I was just trying to take a picture of us, for my contact. I put my number as #1 on speed dial." Inuyasha spoke softly, not willing to spook her any more than she already seemed to be.

 _"Don´t hide under the bedsheets! I want to be able to your beauties whenever I feel like it!"_

The unwanted images came back without her permission and Kagome froze for a moment, wide-eyed and breathing hard.

"But I am not dressed. Neither are you. You can´t take a picture of us like this." She finally managed to say as soon as she snapped out of her trance

"I wasn´t trying to do that!" He hadn´t intended on screaming, Inuyasha noticed he was though. He just didn´t like being falsely accused. "You should get dressed; ramen is ready." His voice sounded almost normal now.

After the girl returned now donning some cozy PJs, they both ate the impromptu dinner in silence.

"I´m sorry Inuyasha, I overreacted." the girl sighed before continuing. "It´s just that...it´s hard to explain" She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how much information she could share with him without breaking down. "I had a bad experience in the past, sex is a scary subject for me. I want to tell you everything, really. I´m trying but is not that easy."

Kagome kept wriggling her hands nervously on her lap waiting for the man seating in front of her to say something. When he didn´t speak, she decided to go on.

"Akitoki... er ... Hojo-kun and I, we never..." She was struggling there.

"I know." Inuyasha chose that moment to interrupt her rambling.

"What? How can you?" Kagome was confused, did he really understood what she meant?

"I wouldn´t be here if I didn´t know." He stretched his hand and took her trembling fingers, lacing them with his. "I could smell it. There´s no trace of him on your scent. All I could smell was you and a little of myself."

At that, the girl flushed a bright shade of red remembering the way he had smelled her fingers a few days ago. Apparently, the sense of smell meant a big deal for youkai.

"Oh, dear Kami!" The girl let go of Inuyasha´s hand and covered her face. " I just realized that if you can smell me then every other youkai in the company will know what we have been doing!"

"Hah." The hanyo just snickered. "Not all youkai have such a fine sense of smell. And even if they do, they would only get a hint of us being in close proximity. They would have to walk in on us doing it or before we clean ourselves to be certain that we were having sex."

That didn´t help her feel less mortified.

"Look, don´t worry about any of these. Just let me pick you up on Monday so we can arrive together at the office, that way both our scents will be intertwined, and no one will be the wiser."

"That sounds like a good plan." Kagome finally could relax again. "Let me check on the dryer."

Clothes already dry and neatly folded Kagome went back to retrieve the futon from the closet, not sure if Inuyasha would want to stay the night with her.

The hanyo helped her extend the mattress while debating with himself. _"You have a big comfortable bed waiting for you at home, what the hell are you doing here?"_

Shedding the pink robe and putting on his boxers, Inuyasha just slid inside with the woman, hugging her slender form snuggly against him.

 _"Why would I go home to my empty, cold bed when Kagome´s soft warm body is right here?"_

Morning came too soon. Inuyasha was awakened by his grumbling stomach, the ramen they had shared for dinner had only entertained his hunger for a while and now he needed some serious nourishment ASAP.

He tried to sneak away from the sleeping form sprawled over his chest without disturbing her slumber. It proved to be impossible, Kagome had wrapped her legs around his and her arms were tightly secured to his shoulders, she was awake as soon as he tried to wiggle himself free.

"Good morning, somebody is hungry it seems."

"Hi." He answered back, a little embarrassed at the situation.

Still unwilling to leave the warmth of the male body, Kagome stretched herself as much as she could without releasing her hold on Inuyasha´s shoulders.

"I should go to the grocery store and get something for breakfast." She mumbled before yawning.

"Ok. What can I do in the meantime?" He asked as she finally freed him to go to the bathroom.

"You can make some coffee, can´t you?"

"Yeah, I can do that. Can you pick a toothbrush for me please?" He cried through the door as Kagome entered the bathroom. He was wondering if she had heard him but when she answered in the affirmative, he had his answer.

She emerged a few minutes later, already dressed in a black and pink tracksuit, her hair tied in a high ponytail, just as Inuyasha´s bladder was starting to protest.

Pecking his cheek as he was raising from the futon, she left him alone in her home, humming a catchy song on the way to the store.

After relieving himself, Inuyasha sauntered the few steps to the kitchen and got the coffee pot started. In a few seconds, the tiny place was smelling heavenly of the roasted beans.

 _"This is nice."_ He told himself smiling. _"I could get used to it. With a bigger bath, and a huge bed."_

He was checking his phone for new messages when the hard-line started ringing. The hanyo was startled by sound first but when he remembered the incessant calls from that Hobo guy, he started growling at the damn thing until the answering machine took the call.

"Kagome dear, are you around?"

He immediately recognized the female on the other line, he had met Kagome´s mother just the day before.

"Pick up sweetie."

He hesitated a moment. Should he pick up the phone? It was his first instinct, to take the call. Would Kagome appreciate his unintentional confession of their relationship to her mother? Probably not. So, he let the woman speak.

"Oh Kami, I´ve been worried since last night. How did your date go? I know you young people don´t want us elderly people meddling in your lives, I just wanted to know if Hojo-kun had finally set a date. I mean, what else could your nerves mean? You two have been engaged for a while, I think it is the right time..."

The voice kept rambling on and on but Inuyasha didn´t hear anything after that, his mind was stuck on just one word.

Kagome was engaged?

There you have it.

Bet you weren´t expecting Sesshy on the first part, were you?

Anyway, thank you again for reading and for the lovely words of encouragement.

Love,

ALP


	16. Chapter 16 Dignified Girls

Hello again, it´s been a while. I´m finally able to update. I´d love to have more free time to write. I hate promising to do it more often and not being able to deliver. Anyway, let´s see what life has in stock for me.

In this chapter Kagome is starting to get stronger, hopefully I can convey that. She´s had a few tough days and is getting more confident.

DISCLAIMER: I don´t own any of the characters, they are the property of the very talented Rumiko Takahashi.

16- Dignified Girls

"I didn´t mean to lie, mother, I just didn´t want to upset you anymore than necessary."

Kagome saw the tears running down her mother´s eyes while the older woman tried stoically to contain them while she had to steel herself not to give in to sobbing too.

"Kagome, I´m your mother." With these words, the damn finally broke together with Mrs. Higurashi´s voice. Sobbing openly now, she tried to continue anyway. "It is my job to worry about you." Using the back of her hand to wipe away at the uncontrollable flood, she added. "I feel like I pushed you into an unhealthy relationship. How messed up is that?"

"Mama..." It was unusual to find herself in the comforting position, Kagome thought. But she had assumed the responsibility for her family´s wellbeing and it included comforting her mother. "I´m sorry I´m such a disappointment." She Gave out a melancholic sigh and spread her arms around her mother´s hunched form on the couch, her head resting on top of the other female´s.

"Oh no, sweetheart. The only disappointment for me is that you couldn´t find happiness."

"Trust me, mom. From now on, I´ll never make that mistake again."

The next day Kagome arrived at the office an hour earlier hoping to find Inuyasha already there. She had been rehearsing what she wanted to tell him all night, hardly getting any sleep. Another change in her life with Inuyasha in it, she had only slept well when they had spent the night together.

Arriving on the 6th floor, she was surprised to discover she had been the first person there today.

"Ok, I´ll be patient. I can do this."

To distract her mind from the clock, she resumed the work she and Inuyasha had done last week. She was so immersed in it that she didn´t notice Miroku arriving and almost making her jump out of her skin.

"Wow, I´m impressed Miss Higurashi, you have done a lot of research while I wasn´t around." He said bending over her shoulder to have a look at her laptop screen.

"Miroku-sama! You scared me." She found herself standing now, thanks to the stealthy arrival of the young man.

"Good morning Kagome!" A cheerful hippo joined in; his hands full with the breakfast trays. "Good to see you Miroku-sama. I have your breakfast too. Inuyasha texted me earlier and told me you would be joining us today."

"Oh, our gracious boss, always thinking of ways to improve our productivity. Thank you, Shippo." He said extending his hand to take the coffee cup the young youkai was offering. "And good morning to you too." He added.

"And where is Inuyasha?" Kagome inquired. Maybe she was too caught up with the job at hand that she hadn´t heard him arrive.

"Oh, didn´t he tell you? He´s not coming in." Miroku offered, his eyes fixed on Kagome´s expression. "He decided he won´t be working with us anymore."

"What?" Kagome could not hide the shock after hearing this. "Why? I mean, I know he is the boss and he can do as he pleases, but did he tell you a reason to do so?"

"No, I´m afraid he didn´t. He just sent me an email informing me of his decision and leaving you and me in charge of the project."

Feeling her legs getting weaker every second, Kagome sat down and let out a sigh, disappointment now showing plainly in her features.

Oblivious of the turmoil in Kagome´s inner self, Shippo went on with the breakfast preparations.

"I brought you some peaches Kagome, they smelled sweet and ripe, you should try them." When the young woman didn´t answer, Shippo turned to Miroku. " Is she alright?"

"Kagome-sama? How are you feeling? Is everything fine?"

Focusing her vacant brown gaze first on one man and then on the younger, Kagome finally managed to snap out of her trance.

"I´m fine guys, it just took me by surprise. Inuyasha has been working with me since day one." Kagome stood right up again and took her computer from the other side of the table, rebooting it in a second before sitting back down, a mask of composure covering her features. "There´s a lot to do if we want to keep the schedule Dr. Ikeda gave us. We should start immediately."

"But your breakfast..." Shippo was about to say it was ready but Kagome didn´t give him any chance.

"It´s ok, I can nibble on a biscuit while I work, we already wasted too much time."

The pace was set for the rest of the day. Miroku and Shippo had to keep up with Kagome´s restless program. She hardly stopped for eating or allowed any breaks for the team.

By the end of the second day, they had started to make phone calls and appointments, trying to interview as many of the partners as possible. Getting them to disclose their views on the project and trying to secure their vote in the next meeting demanded some fine subtlety, something Miroku and Kagome both seemed to understand perfectly.

Shifting her focus to the job, at least during office hours, was the plan Kagome had come with to avoid thinking of Inuyasha. As soon as she left SNT´s building, her mind would be plagued by thoughts of him. He hadn´t called her back, or even read the emails she sent him, even when they were all work-related.

She had tried every means of communication and failed. She had even noticed how her feet would carry her to Shiori´s desk whenever his name was mentioned, only to discover that Inuyasha had not been in Tokyo since Sunday. Where was he gone? It was a mystery no one could help her decipher.

She was starting to feel like a stalker, was this a sign she should give up? Let it all be and forget about the hanyo? It had become clear he had no intention of seeing her, or at least listen to her.

If this is what he wanted, fine by her. She would not bother him anymore, she had her pride too.

"Ok Miss Higurashi, we have finally made some progress." Miroku presented her with a folder with several pages inside and kept talking. "These are the shareholders willing to see us. I thought that we can start with the junior members and move our way up the ladder until we can finally get to Mr. Takahashi himself."

Kagome looked up from the list at the mention of that name. She hadn´t heard it since Inuyasha refused to get in touch with her.

"We have to interview Inuyasha?" She tried to hide the excitement in her voice, unsuccessfully.

"Ha, I wish!" Miroku slapped the table and smirked. "I meant Lord Sesshomaru Takahashi."

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru." The disappointment was also plain when she uttered the words. But then, an idea started to form in Kagome´s mind. "I think we should do it the other way around, start at the top and work our way down the ladder."

"You mean you want _us_ to start with Lord Sesshomaru?"

"No, I meant _I_ should start with him. Get the tougher demon on the list first and the rest will follow him."

"Mmm, interesting thought. It could work. Let me call his assistant and ask him to receive us as soon as possible."

"I would prefer to go by myself, Miroku-sama."

The young man gave her a suspicious look. He had met Sesshomaru before and found him a bit intimidating, the fact that Kagome asked to see the daiyoukai on her own was a bold plan. It could be a smashing success or a huge disaster. Either way, he´d rather be near Kagome for back up.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

A small flea demon opened the door of the Takahashi manor and Kagome couldn´t help but gape in awe. She had gone shopping with Inuyasha, she had ridden in his car, it has given her a sense of how well off he was. His family´s house, on the other hand, could rival any of the emperor´s summer residences, she had no idea someone could be so rich.

The gardens were a large collection of trimmed trees and flower beds, all of them perfectly kept. The manor itself was a couple of centuries-old, at least. Its white brick facade shining in the early morning light.

"We were not expecting Inuyasha-sama´s mate to visit when he´s not here. Lord Sesshomaru will be greatly surprised."

"I am not..." She had started to deny her relationship with Inuyasha once again when she thought better about it. "I´m not here on a personal visit." She told him. And it wasn´t a lie. She was getting more comfortable with the idea, if she was honest with herself.

Kagome walked up the steps that led to the double doors and waited to be guided by the old little demon through vast, silent halls decorated in antique furniture, her heel clicking loudly on the marble floors.

They reached what looked to be a small library and was offered a seat while Myoga, that was the old demon´s name, announced her presence to an even smaller, older karpa-looking youkai seating behind a desk.

"This lady has an appointment with the master, Jaken-sama." The first demon told the second one before turning to her and bowing his head politely on his way out.

"Miss Higurashi, I presume."

Kagome just nodded her head.

"My lord is busy with his daughter. It will only take a few minutes." The frowning green creature announced. "You can have a seat."

Kagome did as instructed, taking out her phone to check on her messages. Still, nothing from Inuyasha. She shouldn´t be disappointed by now, she had already decided to let things be, then why did she keep checking her phone every chance she got?

She was about to answer Sango´s invite for dinner when the door of the office opened letting a young girl out while the green imp entered closing it behind him. She looked to be around 18 years of age, the flower pattern of her dress and the long, wavy dark hair framing her face gave Kagome the impression of a free spirit behind the casual look.

"Hi, sorry to bother you. I´m Rin." The girl´s lovely features brightened in a sweet smile as he addressed her. "I heard my dad saying you were Inuyasha´s girlfriend. Is that true?"

Kagome´s smile froze on her lips.

"I´m Kagome, nice to meet you. I´m sorry, I am not Inuyasha´s girlfriend." _Though I really want to be_ , she wanted to add.

"That´s too bad, you have a nice smile and you are very pretty, I like you. Inuyasha needs a girlfriend that makes him smile, you too would make a nice couple."

Letting out a sigh, Kagome look down at the phone on her lap and then back into the smiling girl´s face. She couldn´t find a logical reason but something on her demeanor made her want to answer in all earnest.

"I would have liked that too if only I could talk to Inuyasha maybe I could make things work between us."

Rin put a small hand on top of hers and squeezed her fingers.

"Don´t you lose hope Kagome-"

"Miss Higurashi, Sesshomaru-sama is ready to see you."

Kagome had the feeling Rin had more to tell her before they were interrupted, now she´ll probably never know.

Walking on wobbly legs, Kagome crossed the threshold and walked the distance to the huge mahogany desk occupying one-third of the room. Behind it, a white-haired demon surveyed her from head to toe. He must be at least two inches taller than Inuyasha, the same strong built, same broad shoulders covered in a gray suit, black shirt, and red tie. Twin ponds of molten gold, so much like Inuyasha´s and yet so different, locked with her own chocolate eyes.

"Higurashi-sama, finally I get the opportunity to put a face to your name. And your scent."

Kagome was bowing her head in polite submission when her head jolted right up.

"My scent? How is that even possible? We haven´t met before."

"Oh, no, we haven´t met. My younger brother would carry your scent around, same as you carry his stench with you. That´s how I "smelled" you before."

The cold underline to his words made the hair on the back of her head stand. The powerful demon lord could not hide his disdain for his own brother.

"That can´t be possible, I haven´t seen Inuyasha in more than a week."

Lord Sesshomaru just arched a single eyebrow, his mouth curving slightly up in a cold smirk.

"Your connection to him must be more powerful than you even know. Has my little brother sent you to do his job?"

"As I said, I haven´t seen your brother in a few days, I came here to do my job."

"Have a seat please." He seemed to order her, and she obeyed mirroring his actions on the other side of the desk. "According to my assistant, you have come as a representative of Dr. Ikeda´s interests. What do you expect to gain from this?"

"I´ll be honest with you. I was promised a nice large bonus if we get the majority´s support for the next meeting."

"Now, since you are being honest, what about your relationship with my brother?"

"Excuse me?"

"What do you expect to gain from it?"

She saw red, a hot rage suddenly boiling within herself. What was this conceited lord demon implying?

"I´m sorry, but even if I had a relationship with your brother, I don´t think you should ask me about it. Talk to your brother, I´m sure he will let you know everything there is to know."

"I already asked him, I am asking you now." Sesshomaru clearly remembered mentioning the human scent clinging to Inuyasha. He also remembered his brother´s refusal to discuss the matter, not unlike the human female.

"Is that true? Didn´t your brother tell you what happened between us?"

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Well, you called me a gold digger. I guess we are even now." Kagome saw the way Sesshomaru´s thin lips tightened and held her breath fearing some kind of physical retaliation. "However, this is not the matter I came to discuss. Can we please focus on Dr. Ikeda´s project?"

"I don´t see why it should matter to me. This Sesshomaru sees no utility for such a project. The mighty demon blood of my race doesn´t need healing of any kind."

Now that he went back to his cold behavior, Kagome felt bolder.

"I can see two flaws in that statement," Kagome spoke confidently, finally getting on more comfortable grounds. "First of all, there are millions of humans in this world that would be willing to pay a fortune in exchange for their health. SNT would profit enormously from the outcome of this project."

"That sounds appealing indeed. Most of the council won´t hesitate to the prospect of a huge profit." Sesshomaru nodded his head. "And what is the second point?"

"As I was waiting outside your office, I made the acquaintance of Rin." Kagome smiled sweetly knowing by the paleness on the demon´s stern face that she had struck a nerve. "You have a human daughter Lord Sesshomaru. I am convinced that you would do anything for her wellbeing, am I right?"

Kagome inhaled deeply, a slow smirk playing on her lips as she saw a cloud passing through Lord Sesshomaru´s momentarily distraught features. She could almost taste the victory.

"Fine." He eventually regained his composure breaking the silence after a few seconds. "I will get behind Onigumo´s project on one condition. I want my brother to be working on it too."

And with that, the tables were turned to leave Kagome gaping at the now very calmed and collected youkai.

"But Inuyasha... he´s not... he doesn´t want to..." She couldn´t even form a coherent sentence.

"What he wants is of no importance to this Sesshomaru. It is my brother´s duty. He must join your team and take this project to a successful end. That´s all you need to have my support."

After a few seconds breathing deeply to regain her strength, Kagome finally made it out of the front door. She couldn´t tell how she managed to get this far before she allowed herself to let some of the anxiety out.

There was no sign of the two small demons that had let her in, so she walked through the garden path by herself, thanking there was nobody to witness her display of weakness.

"Kagome-sama!"

At the mention of her name, Kagome turned to meet the smiling girl from before sitting under the shade of an ancient maple tree with a book on her lap which she soon discarded to catch up with Kagome.

"Rin-chan, I didn´t see you there. I´m glad I get to say goodbye."

The girl had approached Kagome in a few steps, and she could see the rich tone of her coffee-colored eyes as she stepped closer.

"Me too! Before you leave, can I ask why haven´t you talked to my uncle Yash? You mentioned earlier you wanted to talk to him but you couldn´t."

The sheer bluntness of the question caught Kagome off guard. The girl looked like she sincerely cared about Inuyasha and that connected with Kagome´s feelings somehow.

"You are right, I would like to talk to him, but I don´t know where to find him. He left before I could make things right between us, he´s probably very disappointed with me right now."

"Oh, that´s so sad. I can tell you care for him; I can see it in your eyes." Before she could react, Rin was taking Kagome´s hands in hers. A warm affectionate feeling began growing in her chest for this almost stranger, taking Kagome by surprise. "Yash can be very stubborn, you have to talk to him, make him see how you really feel about him."

"I want to do that so badly!" Kagome´s eyes were becoming moistened by the tears she had kept at bay all these days.

"Then go get him."

Rin let go of one of her hands to dig in her pockets for something. She then slipped a piece of crumpled paper in her palm and with both of her hands closed Kagome´s fingers around it. She then squeezed her closed fist and stepped back.

"Next time I see you I hope it´s by Yash´s side. Good luck, Kagome-chan."

She went back to the book she had been reading before Kagome showed up while the older woman carefully unfolded the piece of paper and smiled, tears of relief finally being freed from the prison of her lashes.

There you have it, Rin made her appearance. I love her character; she is so happy and carefree it´s refreshing to write her. If you hadn´t caught it, the title makes reference to the meaning of her name, one of the meanings of Rin in Japanese is dignified.

Next chapter will be an Inukag reunion, I´m hoping to post it soon (don´t hate me if I don´t, shit always happens.)

Thank you so much for reading and leaving such nice encouraging comments.

Love,

ALP


	17. Chapter 17 Time Travelling

And here we go again, another super delayed update. I hope you are not losing your faith that this will ever be completed, we are moving forward. At a snail´s pace, but forward.

I´d like to welcome the new people that has read and favorited this story. A special thanks to all of you who leave a review. There was one comment that caught my eye, saying that they loved how sensitive Inuyasha is. I believe Inuyasha **_is_** a very sensitive guy, he has a heart of gold and suffers a lot because of this. The thing is, he never shows it openly, he hides behind his grumpy puppy ways as a defense mechanism, IMO. And in this story, being an AU and all, the characters had to confront other issues that made them grow up in a different way. Inuyasha is still very sensitive but he doesn´t act out on it, he still a little grumpy but he is a rich, educated guy, I don´t see him as a hot headed dogboy here. I hope it comes across that way to you guys too.

Now, let´s get on with this chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I still don´t own anything, sadly.

17- Time travelling

The air swooshed around him as Inuyasha swung the blade from its overhead position to the front, casting a gush of wind as a result. Moving his right foot to the front, he tried a different series of movements from side to side, the blade humming though the air in agreement with his steps. As much as he had been advised as a young boy, he could never get used to the traditional shinai preferring his rusty old sword, Tessaiga, over the lighter bamboo stick. Inuyasha found he was more in tune with his father´s sword than he could ever be with any other weapon. It made his movement lighter and more precise, his strikes more accurate and deadlier, if he ever wanted to kill.

Kendo had always been an escape for him, from the bullies at school, from his bastard of an older brother, from the loneliness of the world. He could always count on the exercise to take his mind off the problems. At least that was what he had hoped it would be this time too. Despite his hastiness and lack of formal training, he still enjoyed the practice, not to mention the connection to his late father through Tessaiga. Kendo also was a distraction much needed now that his mind kept running in circles. A way to tire his body into oblivion before he could lay his head down.

He had fled the city as soon as he heard the message from Kagome´s mother, not waiting to even demand an explanation, choosing his late mother´s family state as a hideout to lick his wounds. The fact that it was far from Sesshomaru´s grip being the top reason for his choice. His brother didn´t have any of his underlings around this place, which made it less likely to appear on the daiyokai´s radar, and even if it did, he would not dare set foot on Inuyasha´s property. The connection with his parents was the other reason that had drawn him here. It was a place where his parents had been happy together, where he had been born and loved by them.

"You are so pathetic!" He scolded himself.

He could try to hide from the world, but he could never deceive himself. He knew he had been such a lovesick puppy that he had forgot about the rest of the world the moment Kagome had returned his kisses. And he had done it so easily, happy to be around the girl´s warmth, intoxicated by her scent. Now here he was, unsuccessfully trying to get over Kagome and make amends with his past.

Even if he had to train 24 hours a day, he still couldn´t get Kagome out of his mind.

 _"What you need is a harder routine_." He decided.

Redoubling his efforts, he stabbed the air once again and swerved the old relic over his head in a frantic rage.

Rainy days used to get her in a melancholic mood, Kagome reminded herself as she laid her forehead against the cool crystal. Raindrops run wild on the smooth surface as the high-speed train dashed through the countryside. Kagome smiled at her reflection. She couldn´t help her lighter mood, she finally would be able to explain everything to Inuyasha. She refused to entertain the idea that he could deny to even listen to her. He might as well do that since he went out of his way to avoid seeing her. The girl frowned at her reflection now.

"Stop it! He will at least listen to me, he won´t deny me that."

The passenger sitting next to her turn at the sound of her voice and she gave him an apologetic smile.

She had accepted Inuyasha´s will humbly and the Kami-sama had sent Rin-chan to her, it had to be a sign they were meant to be together. Or at least, she would get to explain herself to him and they could work together in peace. Either way, she needed to see Inuyasha. Though the prospect of them being together was what put a silly grin on her façade, to be honest.

Stepping out of the train in Kyoto station, the happy expression vanished when she had to tackle the rain with no umbrella or raincoat to cover herself. She had only brought a light sweater with her since the sun was shining when she left her apartment that morning.

"It´s just a spring drizzle." She told herself as she started the way. Not even the rain could ruin her day, Kagome plucked up her courage and smiled again looking up to the heavens while raindrops streamed down her face.

When she arrived at the gate, the rain had already stopped. She was soaking wet though, hair sticking to her face, clothes dripping, and shoes drenched.

Kagome opened her left hand where she was clasping the little piece of paper Rin had slipped her just to make sure she had the right address. Squaring her shoulders and running a hand through her hair, she tried to at least make herself more presentable. She couldn´t see through the concrete wall surrounding the premises but she could tell the wall spread a couple of yards longer than the other houses. A few seconds later the wooden door opened and a massive human-looking yokai appeared, a friendly smile adorning his face.

"Good morning miss, how can I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Kagome Higurashi. I´m looking for Mr. Taisho."

The giant stood there, a blank look on his face as his huge form blocked the view of whatever laid behind the walls.

"Inuyasha Taisho?" She clarified. Still no answer. " I work for SNT and I need to talk to him about..."

Finally, the big guy sniffed the air and smiled.

"I´m sorry I didn´t recognize you. Come in please."

"Did we meet before? I´m sure it´s the first time we meet."

"Oh, no. It is the first time. it´s just that the rain washed away your scent. It took longer to identify Inuyasha-sama scent on you." He spoke as he led her in and closed the front door. "My name is Jinenji, Miss. I´m the groundskeeper here."

"Great, for once this scent thing comes in handy."

It was then that Kagome was finally able to look around and had to gape in awe. The gardens were as vast as the Taisho state she had visited in Tokyo, but the likeness died there. Lush green bushes neatly trimmed were scattered here and there. There was a pond encased in the greenest grass where lotto flowers bloomed in all their splendor and a few cherry trees were already budding in preparation for the next hanami.

As Kagome stopped to drink in the beauty of the sight, the fragrances the rain had masked reached her nose making her inhale deeply to savor it.

Oblivious of her ecstatic appreciation of her surroundings, Jinenji kept walking through a winding pebbled road that led to a sumptuous **_minka_** * half-hidden by another group of cherry trees. The girl had to speed up to catch up to him.

"This garden is breathtaking." She commented idly.

"Thank you, Miss. It´s always so gratifying when someone appreciates my job." The giant stopped and turned to her with a big, satisfied smile on his face. "Would you like me to get you a towel to dry yourself?"

"Yes! That would be very nice."

"Ok, you can follow this path around the house and you´ll find the dojo where Inuyasha-sama practices. I´ll bring you the towel there."

Kagome had so many questions she wanted to ask, unfortunately, Jinenji left her alone before she could utter any. Instead, she kept walking around the house to find the dojo and Inuyasha.

If the garden had left her gaping, the sight of Inuyasha training had her salivating. Bare-chested and barefoot, his lower body was covered in a loose red hakama. His taut muscles flexing with every swing of his sword were covered in a thin layer of sweat, a few drops running down his sculpted torso and abs.

Kagome closed her mouth and swallowed hard. She could still remember the sight of his skin, how good it felt to touch it, even the smell and taste of it. It was a weird feeling but since their night together Kagome felt almost sated. However, the moment her eyes were allowed to roam his body, the craving returned with a vengeance.

Her eyes were drawn to the trail of white silverish hair extending down from his navel to the area covered by the hakama. It was the same color as his hair, currently tied in a loose man bun, pearly white like the light of the full moon over a placid lake. The young woman could feel her body coming back to life after one glimpse of his impressive physique.

Kagome stood at the open door of the dojo, unable to move or speak, her fingers fidgeting, clutching and unclutching the hem of her blouse. She wet her lips with her tongue preparing to interrupt his exercise when the silver-haired god suddenly turned in her direction and stopped all motions.

For a moment they stood there, looking into the other´s eyes, unable to break the silence.

"What are you doing here?" There was no animosity in his voice, nor warmth or any hint of feeling whatsoever.

"I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to sneak up on you. I would have let you know I was coming if you answered your phone."

"Kagome, I don´t think this is a good idea...I mean...there´s a reason why I haven´t answered my phone."

"I know you must hate me but I need to explain everything to you." She made a pause to gather courage before continuing. "If you don´t want to see me anymore after we talk, I´ll leave and never bother you again, I promise."

"You found him!" Jinenji loomed in the doorway with a cheerful expression. "Great!" He extended his very long arms to hand her a folded piece of cloth. When Kagome´s hand made contact with the soft material, she realized it wasn´t a towel. She looked down and was corrected by the sight of a downy soft terrycloth and some silk garment on top of it. I took the liberty of bringing you some dry clothes too."

She hesitated for a moment and turned to Inuyasha.

"You can change in the bathroom here. I need to take a shower anyway." He started to walk on the pebble path when he looked back.

"Jinenji, tell your mother to make some tea for us."

Some minutes later Kagome found herself dressed in a yellow kimono covered in pink flowers, and kneeling in front of a low table, pouring tea from an exquisite china set.

"It´s like traveling back in time." She thought to herself.

Inuyasha joined her presently, donned in black and white striped robes.

"Here, let me pour you some tea." She broke the uncomfortable silence and waited for him to drink his tea.

"How did you find me?" He asked after a few sips.

"Oh, RIn-chan. She gave me the address."

"That nosy child! My brother is making an awful job as a parent." He smiled fondly though before becoming serious again.

"I went to talk to your brother about the project and we met. She was very kind to me. Your brother, on the other hand, was tougher. He wants you to go back to work and..."

"I know, he told me so himself. And now he sent you to convince me, the asshole."

"I...I wanted to see you too. Look, there are many things that I didn´t tell you... "

Inuyasha crossed his legs in front of him into a more comfortable position. "Go ahead." His voice seemed cold to his own ears, even when her mere presence had warmed up the hollow he felt in his chest since the last time he saw her.

"Inuyasha, this is hard for me." She took a deep, cleansing breath and went on. "Before I met you, I thought I could be asexual, or frigid, or something else."

Inuyasha suppressed the need to snort. She had responded with feverish passion to his advances, there was no way he would think she was a frigid. One look at her face was enough to know she wasn´t joking, the subject of sex was clearly a sore one for Kagome.

"You are not frigid, I could vouch for that. Whatever gave you that idea?"

"I... My first experience with sex wasn´t very pleasant. My boyfriend at the time wasn´t interested in my pleasure, just his own. And when I finally confronted him, after finding out he had cheated on me on multiple occasions, he blamed me for it. His exact words were that I was a lousy fuck."

She finally stopped talking, her vision cloudy due to the tears that menaced to run freely down her cheeks.

Inuyasha was horrified. How would be such a wimp to treat a woman like that? He fisted his hands at his sides, the murderous protective instinct making him bite back a growl.

"I survived" Kagome smiled sadly and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Only my ego was damaged." She gave him a sad smile. "But I tried to avoid sexual relationships from then on. Years later I made an agreement with Hojo-kun, we would go out on dates to get our families off our backs. His reasons for accepting this situation were never clear, though Sango thinks he might be afraid to come out of the closet."

"Then you and him, nothing ever happened between you two?" He was trying to make sense of all of this.

"He´s just a dear friend. He was relieved when I told him I couldn´t pretend anymore because I had met someone. And that night he asked me if he could kiss me, he said needed to prove something."

"That was when I almost broke his neck." He could understand now why Kagome had no traces of other males' scents.

"He could have died of a heart attack, you scared him senseless."

Now he felt sorry for the guy.

"I did a lot of crazy shit since I met you." He admitted to her.

"We both did. Are you still mad at me?" Her eyes seemed to plead with him.

" I wasn´t mad at you. It was myself that I blame for all of this." He set down the dainty cup and run a hand over his face sighing loudly. "It could all have been avoided if I had kept my hands to myself. My work ethic flew out of the window, I broke the promises I had made. Hell, I would have killed your supposed fiancé if that meant I could be with you for a just moment."

"Inuyasha." She whispered his name, touched by the intense feeling behind his words.

Kagome reached out and squeezed his hand gently, her body leaning towards him over the tea-table. She kissed his forehead gently, making him look up into her eyes and then she kissed his lips.

It was a gentle kiss, warm and sweet, unlike the stormy, passionate ones they had always traded.

"Kagome, we shouldn´t be doing this."

"Why not? Everything is in the open now, I told you everything, there´s nothing standing between us."

Inuyasha put both hands on her shoulders and pushed her away softly.

"Actually, there are some things I need to tell you." He sighed and rubbed her shoulders. "We both must be honest with each other, if we want to make this work out."

Ok, now we are talking! Our babies are finally being open about their past. I´ll leave the rest of the conversation for the next chapter.

See you guys soon.

AOL


	18. Chapter 18 Awakening

Surprise! Bet you weren´t waiting for an update so soon. I´m so happy to finally be able to focus on writing and get the story going. Just a heads up, don´t get used to it if you don´t want to be disappointed. I´ll try to keep this rhythm but I can´t make any promises.

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha and all the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi sensei.

18 Awakening

"I don´t see it that way." Kagome stood up and walked around the table to kneel next to Inuyasha. "From what you tell me, you both suffered enough. You don´t need to carry on suffering. Neither of you."

Inuyasha sighed, his hand automatically reaching up to grab one of Kagome´s now resting on his shoulders.

"I can´t let her suffer on her own. I won´t be able to live a happy and carefree life if Kikyo is miserable. I just can´t."

"So, what are you planning to do? It´s not like you can order her to be happy. There are plenty of women who can´t bear children and not all of them are depressed because of it. She can still be a mother. Did you ever tell her about adoption?"

"Yes, I mentioned all the possibilities I could think of. And I offered... I promised her..." Inuyasha sighed and turned his eyes to his lap "I said I would still marry her." He finally got that part out. He peeked at Kagome´s face from the corner of his eye.

"What?" As he had expected, she was shocked by this piece of information. "When did you...? Did she say yes? Are you two planning to marry?" She had let go of Inuyasha´s shoulders and was now standing a few feet away. She wanted to be face to face with him when he answered.

"No!" He looked up straight into her eyes and gave her that answer.

"No what? You are not engaged then? There are no weddings planned in the near future?"

"No. There are no wedding plans. She never accepted me after the miscarriage."

"Good." She sat down in front of him again, pouring another cup of tea which was cold by then. "This means we are not committed to anyone else." Kagome gulped the cold beverage and put down the small cup pouring the last few drops. "We are free, Inuyasha. We can be with anyone we want." She drank the last remnants of the tea and sighed with relief.

"I promised her Kagome. It wouldn´t feel right to give up on her."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I am not free."

"Then what will happen to us?" She wanted to cry again; she could feel the lump forming in her throat. But she refuse to let the tears spill in front of him.

"I need to talk to her before I can make a decision."

They didn´t talk much after that conversation. Kagome had come all this way with high expectations and by the end of the day, all her hopes had been crushed. One thing was clear to her, she could not interfere in Inuyasha´s and Kikyo´s relationship, whatever it was.

She spent the night in a lovely room in a quiet side of the house, her futon was very comfortable and still, she was unable to sleep much. They had decided to get back to Tokyo together and Inuyasha would try to contact Kikyo as soon as he got home.

Kagome didn´t know what to do. She didn´t want to leave him alone yet she knew she had no place in their conversation. All she could do was wait for him and pray he could reason with that woman.

In the end, Kagome spent the Sunday with Sango, who was already on her feet. Her friend listened to her whole report on the weekend´s events and tried everything to distract her from thinking about Inuyasha´s and Kikyo reunion. They had lunch at a little bistro and went to a movie and a coffee shop later.

Kagome sat in front of Sango, looking at her phone screen and mindlessly stirring her already lukewarm cappuccino.

"Just relax Kags, there´s nothing you can do but wait for him to call."

Kagome sighed and continued scrolling through her feed. Then she seemed to remember something and started typing, her eyes growing large and her mouth agape.

"She´s so beautiful." Kagome just mumbled.

"Let me see that." Sango took the phone away from her and took just one look at the screen before looking at her friend´s discouraged face.

"I mean, I saw them together once but I didn´t pay attention to her. And she had been crying too. She looks like a top model in the pictures. They are both so elegant and gorgeous." Kagome sighed again, resting her cheek on the palm of her right hand. "And I am... not." She added.

"Don´t say it like you are some kind of fugly weirdo sweetie. You are beautiful in your own way." Sango took her free hand and squeezed it warmly. "And look." Sango let go of her hand to point at something on the phone. "She looks so cold and distant. And Inuyasha doesn´t look any better in the picture. They are far from the portrait of a happy couple."

"I don´t know Sango, maybe she doesn´t like the paparazzi." She took her phone back and shut it off. Her face looking pale, eyes glistening with tears. "What if she says yes? What if she finally agrees to marry Inuyasha? Or what if she doesn´t give him an answer? We´ll never be free from that woman. Inuyasha could be tied to her his whole life"

"If he´s not ending everything with that woman, then he doesn´t deserve another minute of your thoughts."

"Yeah, you´re probably right."

Kagome resumed her frantic scrolling. _"Easier said than done_." She thought to herself.

The psychiatric ward was a gloomy place. Inuyasha already felt uneasy going to a hospital after the vivid dream he had the last time he visited one. His restlessness grew bigger as he was guided by a middle-aged nurse to Kikyo´s room.

Hearing from Onigumo that his daughter had been admitted here a month ago, Inuyasha couldn´t help but feel the weight of guilt grow heavier on his shoulders. He was the first one to admit the woman needed professional help, but this sounded like an overly exaggerated measure to him.

"It seems Miss Ikeda is not in her room." The nurse interrupted his train of thought.

He was dreading some awful news when he heard someone cheerfully calling his name.

"Inuyasha! You came to visit me."

A second later he felt the warm embrace of slim arms around his stiffened frame.

"Kikyo?"

A smiling face surprised him further when she finally let go of him.

"I´m so glad to see you. Come, walk with me. The children are waiting for me in the garden."

"Sure," He indulged her. "Are we allowed to do that?" He slowed his pace to match hers as they crossed through security checkpoints.

Kikyo laughed, an almost foreign sound that made his ears twitch on top of his head.

"Of course, silly! Dr. Suikotsu has given me plenty of freedom."

Inuyasha stopped walking for a moment to study her further. Kikyo didn´t seem to be on any drug, her skin looked rosy, her eyes sparkled and were full of life.

"Kikyo, you look different. Are you feeling alright?"

The young woman turned to face him grabbing one of his hands with both of hers.

"Actually, I am. I´m feeling so much better than I had in years." she smiled at him with a warmth he hadn´t seen in her before. "When my father suggested that I could benefit from psychiatric care I tried to refuse. I didn´t want to admit I needed help." Her smile became somber for a moment. "For years, even before we met, I tried to find my place in the world. I didn´t quite know where that place was, I just knew I wouldn´t become a shrine maiden. So, when you came along, I thought you were my knight in shining armor, coming to rescue me from my tower prison. It never happened though. I just felt trapped in a different jail."

When she noticed Inuyasha´s blameful expression she continued.

"It wasn´t your fault. I didn´t know any better. We are just not suited to be together. I couldn´t have made you happy, no more than you could made me."

"Kikyo... I´m sorry." He put a hand on her shoulder trying to make it more bearable to dig in their past.

"Anyway, it´s all water under the bridge now. Dr. Kimura, Suikotsu, has helped me grapple with all of my baggage. I´m taking some antidepressants in addition to doing therapy too."

"Miss Kikyo!" the voice of a little girl interrupted them and Kikyo turned to talk to the infant for a few seconds.

"Whose kids are those?" Inuyasha asked when she was facing him again.

"Some of them are patients, the pediatric wing is on the other side of the garden. Others are just visiting. And some of them are orphans, they were abandoned here, or their parents died and nobody has claimed them. Could you wait for me just a moment? Hanako can´t find her teddy bear and she won´t go to bed without it."

Sitting on a bench basking in the late afternoon sun, Inuyasha sighed with relief. He still couldn´t believe his eyes, Kikyo had been transformed in just a couple of weeks. Perhaps there was hope for both of them after all.

He fished his phone from his jeans pocket and wrote a little message for Kagome.

"We need to talk. Dinner at your place?"

He didn´t have to wait long before she answered.

"Tonight? No problem."

He smiled again. He wanted to tell her everything right now, but it would be much better if he saw her in person.

"It´s a date then."

He was still smiling when Kikyo returned with the little girl holding a teddy bear on one hand and Kikyo´s hand on the other.

 _"She can´t be older than 3 or 4 years_." He thought. They sat right next to him, the girl cuddling in Kikyo´s arms.

"She won´t go to sleep. She lost her mother in a fire and her father is still recovering." Kikyo caressed her hair and rocked her softly against her chest.

"You are good with kids. I never saw you around one." He confessed.

"These children are helping me more than medicine and therapy. I´m seriously considering going back to school and becoming a teacher or a nurse. There are so many kids that I could help." She stopped for a moment and grabbed one of the hanyo´s hand in her. "Inuyasha, I never said I´m sorry to you. We lost our baby, both of us. I was so focused on my pain I never acknowledged yours. I made it all so much worse."

"You don´t need to apologize. You were grieving and I didn´t know how to help you. I am sorry too."

They stayed on the bench chatting amicably for the remaining of the day, the little girl sound asleep. A peaceful afternoon together at long last.

Kagome dashed into her tiny apartment with a shopping bag under one arm. She had yet to cook and clean before Inuyasha arrived. He didn´t say what time he was coming, which made it all the more stressful.

Sango was right by her side when she got his text.

"What did he say?" The brunette asked impatiently.

Kagome´s face was still cloudy after reading the message.

"He wants to talk, tonight."

"Is that all? Didn´t he mention how it went with his psycho ex?"

"Nothing, just that it´s a date." Her eyes enlarged in sudden realization. "Maybe he just wants to let me down easy. Oh crap, he´s planning on dumping me."

"Kags, stop it. He said it was a date. Nobody asks you on a date to dump your ass. At least no decent person would ever do that."

"So, it´s a date?" Kagome was already on her feet collecting her belongings. " I have to make dinner and clean my apartment. I´d better get going then."

"Keep me in the loop!"

She had done some last-minute shopping but couldn´t get much so late on a Sunday afternoon. She settled for some sea bass fillet and some vegetables, enough to make a small salad. She didn´t know how to prepare the fish but remembered a simple salt-baked recipe her mother had prepared a handful of times. She remembered it was easy enough and the end result was quite sophisticated, all she needed to do was cover the fish in salt and shove it in her little electric oven for half an hour. That would give her time to tidy up her place and change into a nicer outfit.

After applying the last touches of mascara and a dash of lipstick, Kagome took the fish out of the oven and lit some candles for a more romantic setting.

Some minutes later, when Inuyasha finally arrived, she had already blown the candles out, just in case he was thinking of marrying that other woman. Kagome was hopeful but tried not to get her hopes up too much.

"Did you burn dinner?" He asked trying to lighten the mood. He had brought a bottle of white wine which he handed her after leaving his shoes at the entrance

 _"Kami, he looks so handsome in a plain red shirt and black jeans."_ Kagome thought _. "He looks good in anything he wears."_

"No! It´s fine, see?" She pointed to the golden baked sea bass. "Are you hungry?"

"Wow, it looks great. Sure, let´s eat something."

Inuyasha could tell the girl was tense before she even asked about his meeting with Kikyo.

"So, how did it go?" She fumbled with the dishes while serving the salad and the fish, handing one dish to him and setting another for herself. They sat on the floor on both sides of the low table while Inuyasha poured the wine into two plastic cups, which was the only kind Kagome had.

"It went surprisingly well. I still can´t believe Kikyo is doing so much better." He took a sip of the wine and continued. "She was talking about going back to school, she wants to work with children. It was such a relief to see her like that."

"Oh, really?" Kagome downed the whole content of her cup in two gulps and poured some more wine for herself.

Inuyasha just frowned and went on. "It´s great. I haven´t heard her make plans for the future in a long time."

When she drank the second cup in as many seconds Inuyasha put down his cup.

"Wow, take it easy. It can get to your head in no time."

"I can handle it, don´t worry."

"Okay... if you say so."

At that moment he took a bite of the fish with his chopstick and almost chocked on it.

"What is it? Is it too spicy?" Kagome took a piece herself and regretted it immediately.

She wanted to spit it out. She ran to the kitchen to get some paper napkins so she could take the offending white meat out of her mouth.

"Argh, it´s too salty. How is it possible? Mama always gets it perfectly done." She crouched down on her side of the table, her shoulders hunching in defeat. "This is a disaster. You don´t have to eat it. I understand if you want to leave now."

"I just got here. I came to see you; dinner is not that important. We can still eat salad." She gave him a pitiful look. "Or you seasoned that too?"

Kagome couldn´t help pouting.

"No. I forgot about that. There´s no dressing for the salad."

Inuyasha chuckled and shrugged his shoulders while digging into the bland salad. Such a simple gesture made Kagome relax and eat hers too.

"Smile Kagome, we are celebrating!"

"We are? It´s good news then?" Her mouth shily turned upward. "For me too?"

Her eyes shone so brightly, she looked so vulnerable and sincere. Her full lips parted to let out the breath she had been holding drawing his eyes to them, down the white column of her neck down to her heaving chest.

Inuyasha licked his lips.

"Suddenly I´m not hungry for food."

His movements were so fast he took her by surprise. Before she could blink, Inuyasha had moved the table out of the way and swept her across the hardwood floor, his hands cupping her face and his tongue tracing the form of her lips.

It took Kagome a few seconds to react when she realized what was happening. Her mouth opened as he dipped his tongue inside, her legs were already crossing behind his back and her hands tangling in his white mane. The glorious feeling of his hard body flush against her own had her arching her back to savor it to the fullest. The fire inside her reignited while their tongues stroked each other in sensual slow motion, she couldn´t have enough of it.

Inuyasha´s hands left her face to cup her bottom making Kagome very aware of the bulging thickness of his manhood trapped between their bodies. She started grounding her pelvis against it which send delicious jolts of pleasure to her core. She could feel her core getting wetter and her nether lips swelling with need.

Soft meowls filled Inuyasha´s ears and he grinned mischievously against Kagome´s mouth, breaking the kiss for a moment. Their eyes met when she tried to get a glimpse of whatever had caused the interruption, fear clouding her features as the thought of Inuyasha making up with Kikyo flashed in her mind´s eye.

"Kagome, is everything ok?"

"I´m sorry but I need to know. Are you a free man? We aren´t hurting anyone, are we?"

"No, I am not free. I am your prisoner. I can only do what you want me to do."

Taking a lungful of air Kagome crushed her lips to him.

"Mmmm. In that case," she spoke against his welcoming mouth, "I want to resume what we were just doing."

"It´s me, father, Kikyo." The cheerful voice sounded so different from what he was used to that Onigumo almost hung up the phone. "I know it´s late but I was busy with the children here."

"Kikyo, sweetheart. You scared me. Why are you calling me at this hour?"

"Everything´s fine father, don´t worry. It´s just that Inuyasha came to see me and you asked me to let you know if it ever happened."

"Yes, I remember dear. So, did you do what I asked you to?"

"I did. And you were right father, I´m feeling so much better after letting him go, it´s like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I can´t believe it took me so long."

"Kikyo, my child. I´m glad you are finally over that episode of your life. I knew you could do it. Now you are ready to move on."

"Yes father, I am ready."

"Good. Be a good girl and wait for Suikotsu. I need to talk to him to decide what´s better for you dear."

"I´ll be waiting patiently, father."

The old doctor hung up the receiver and immediately took out his cell phone.

"Kagura, I need you to get Suikotsu and his brothers together for a meeting. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning." He nodded his head. "In the lab, they´ll know which one."

In the semidarkness of his bedroom the old, creased face lit up with a wicked grin.

"It´s almost time Naraku."

A/N: And Naraku is mentioned, finally. I´m glad I can get Kikyo some sort of redemption. I want to give her a happy ending, she deserves so much more than just dying, as long as she doesn´t mess with my OTP. I have to say my younger self hated her with the power of the sun but now I can respect her as Inuyasha´s first love and that´s all.

I hope to have next chapter out soon. It will be a sinfully smutty one ; )

Love,

ALP


	19. Chapter 19 The doctors

Hello again!

Before I forget, and in case anyone was wondering what went wrong with the fish in the last chapter, it was because when you bake with salt you need the whole fish, skin, scales and all; Kagome used fillet so it absorbed all the salt.

This chapter has been almost too hard to write. I have an idea in my mind of what the story is going to be. I have a plan; I made a draft. It was supposed to be an excuse for hot Inukag smuttiness. And then I sit down to write, and this comes out of nowhere.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the fluff too cause this is what you get this time around.

DISCLAIMER: I still don´t own Inuyasha.

Chapter 19: The doctors

Ears twitching in the direction of the soft sounds, Inuyasha tried his best to not let them distract him from what he was doing. He was kissing Kagome, he was lost in her embrace, right where he wanted to be. It was different this time though. They were free, both of them. They had every right to be here, together.

Soft moaning became louder as his lips left her mouth to venture down the soft skin of her neck, finding the place where her pulse was stronger, fangs ghosting over the delicate skin, tongue licking every inch afterward.

Kagome was clinging to his broad shoulders, unable to break the spell she was under. She was becoming a heated goo pile melting on the floor. A moaning and gasping goo pile.

"Oh kami, I want you so badly."

His hoarse voice vibrated against her lips as he dipped for another shattering kiss. His hands were making their way towards the buttons of her blouse when he felt her body stiffen as Kagome withdrew away from him.

"What is it?" He asked giving her some apparently needed space. "Are you alright?"

"I´m fine." She answered rearranging her clothes. "I just need a little air."

Inuyasha took a deep breath and sat straight, his golden orbs searching her coffee-colored ones.

"Kagome, we don´t have to do anything, you know?"

"Oh, I... I don´t know." She still evaded his powerful gaze.

Unwilling to stay away from her, Inuyasha grabbed her hand from her lap, which seemed to be the focus of her attention at the moment.

"We have plenty of time. We don´t have to do anything tonight if you don´t want to."

"But I do want to!" She could feel the color rising from her neck to her cheeks as soon as the words left her mouth. "I mean...I´m nervous, that´s all."

"Yeah, I can tell." Inuyasha smiled at her and took a deep breath. "It could work out better this way. I would like to take you out on a proper date, but it seems I can´t get my hands off you. If we are in public, there is a better chance of me behaving like a gentleman."

Kagome let out a small chuckle.

"I thought you wanted ... more?" She wasn´t sure how to phrase it but Inuyasha had already got the meaning of her words.

"Oh, I do. Trust me. It doesn´t have to be tonight though."

The warmth she was feeling now was very different from the scorching flames that brazed her whenever he was near her

"I´d very much like dating you." She finally answered

"How about I take you out next Saturday?"

"Really?" She frowned for a moment. "We still have to see each other every day, it´s a long time until next Saturday."

"We can hang out at lunch and I will definitely try to steal a kiss every chance I get."

She still looked very insecure, her eyes dodging his, hands fidgeting on the hem of her dress.

"C´mon now." Inuyasha stood up and grabbed her hand to help her do the same. "Let´s go get something to eat before I eat you."

Monday morning arrived and found Kagome sitting at the conference room table before even Shiori was in the office. She felt so happy and well-rested she could take on the world. She sat down in front of her laptop and started working on some pending matters.

Shippo was the next to arrive. He came bearing the breakfast goods, Kagome made a pause to indulge in some much-needed caffeine. Miroku joined them a few minutes later, grateful he didn´t have to tackle the job right away.

Finally, Kagome could hear Inuyasha arrive. He was talking to Shiori apparently, checking on any issues that might need his attention after a few days off. She was too jittery all of a sudden, unable to swallow anything, good thing she was almost done.

"Good morning boss." Miroku was the first to acknowledge his appearance in the conference room. Kagome had already felt him standing behind her if that was even possible. She was sitting with her back to the door so she couldn't actually see him, her body was well aware of his presence though.

"Inuyasha, welcome back!" Shippo´s high pitched voice didn´t conceal the excitement he felt to have Inuyasha back with them. The boy almost jumped out of his seat to greet him.

"Morning guys." The hanyo just mumbled. He didn´t want to make a huge deal of his absence. "How´s everything going?"

"It´s going smoothly thanks to our dear Kagome here," Miroku said while he signed to her. "she has gone through the whole list. The only thing left is to interview a few shareholders before we can set a meeting with the legal team."

"Great." Inuyasha nodded as he seated on the head of the table, Shiori standing beside him holding his laptop as he settled down. "Did you manage to secure most of the board to at least accept the idea?"

"There are a few that can go either way and some that still need some convincing. But I´m positive most of them are on board with Onigumo."

Kagome spoke confidently, her eyes focused on her hands, fingers intertwined in front of her, before daring to look into the golden depth of Inuyasha´s eyes. When she finally did she found him smiling softly at her. It only lasted a few seconds before both of them snapped out of the trance.

"What about Sesshomaru? Has anyone spoken to him?" He said busing himself with setting his laptop in front of him.

"Kagome did. She even decided to go to him before we talked to any other shareholder." Shippo enthusiastically rambled on without noticing their boss´s somber look.

"You called him?" Inuyasha´s look was now fixed on Kagome.

"She did better than that," Miroku interjected. "She went to his manor and interviewed him in person."

"And?" Inuyasha questioned her.

"I think we can count on his vote. I´ll need to go back and make sure we reached an agreement."

"Good." He broke eye contact with her at last, turning to Shiori again. "Call Jaken and make an appointment for me and Kagome before the end of the week."

The young hanyo girl left and the group went back to work. Kagome´s nerves settled down as business went back to normal. Many subjects had been delayed due to Inuyasha´s absence which made them stay working after well past lunchtime. When Shippo announced it was time for him to leave, they realized they had worked nonstop since breakfast.

"Shit, I´m sorry guys. I didn´t mean to make you skip lunch." Inuyasha spat the words out.

"That´s alright." Miroku chimed in. " It gives me an excuse to leave early and take my lovely girlfriend to an early dinner." He put on his jacket and turned off his computer. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Alone at last!" Inuyasha´s voice lowered to just a raspy whisper making Kagome blush profusely. "Let´s go grab something to eat before I take you home."

Kagome just nodded and grabbed her handbag following after him. They stopped in front of Shiori´s desk.

"I was able to make an appointment for both of you with Mr. Takahashi next Thursday." She talked to Inuyasha first and then turned her attention to Kagome. "There was a message for you Miss Higurashi, you need to schedule a check-up with the health insurance company. They said it´s urgent since you have been recently upgraded."

"Oh dear, I didn´t know I had to do that. I´ll do it first thing tomorrow."

"Don´t worry about that," Inuyasha told her as he escorted her to the elevator which was already waiting for them. "It´s just a routine test. Onigumo insists we all have a medical record and annual checkups."

As the elevator doors closed Inuyasha´s hands traveled to her waist and crushed her body against the mirror in the back.

"I´ve been wanting to do this all fucking day." He mumbled against her lips before joining his for a deep, searing kiss.

Kagome reacted promptly, her hands sliding behind his neck for balance as she felt the floor leaving her and she was suddenly floating weightlessly against Inuyasha´s solid form.

The bell announcing a stop sounded and they had only a few seconds to compose themselves before the doors opened and no other than Yura stepped in.

"Well, who do we have here?" She started sniffing the air almost immediately. "Good evening lovebirds." Her voice sounded kind, but her eyes were shooting daggers at Kagome.

Inuyasha merely nodded. "Yura."

Kagome didn´t bother to answer, she just imitated her boyfriend.

An uncomfortable silence ensued. Inuyasha reached for Kagome´s hand and smiled reassuring her.

The bell rang again when they reached the parking floor as Yura turned to them, a look of pure hatred plain on her face as she saw they were holding hands.

"Goodbye!" She managed to spit the words before turning her back and making an outraged exit, her high heels clacking loudly on the cement floor.

"Awkward." Kagome sneaked a look at him. "Do you think she hates us?"

"Keh! Of course, she does. Now let´s go get some ramen before I pin you back against some wall and ravish you."

Kagome was still blushing several minutes later while they ate their food.

"This way Miss Higurashi." The male nurse led her down a corridor after taking her blood samples, his hips swaying in an almost feminine gait. "Dr. Kimura will see you presently."

"Dr. Kimura? Are you two related?" She asked looking straight to his name tag.

"We sure are! Adopted brothers. There are seven of us, all in the medical field too." Now that he had dropped the professional facade, Kagome could tell his voice had an up-high tone and his fingers moved in a delicate way as he tapped them to his chin. "You may meet more than just the two of us if you happen to need to see an ob-gyn or a psychologist."

He waved his fingers daintily at her when he left her in the waiting room.

 _"What a strange man!"_ Kagome thought. _"I wonder if all of the brothers are any similar."_

She didn´t have to picture that for too long, Dr. Renkotsu Kimura, MD, called her name a few minutes later.

He looked nothing like his brother and his manners were also very different. He looked cold and professional, not very chatty either. She got the impression the man wasn´t very friendly.

The doctor measured and weighed her, checked her blood pressure and asked her some routine questions.

"Any allergies? Chronic disease in your family?"

"Well, my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year."

"Any cases of diabetes or cancer?"

"No, none that I´m aware of."

"How about your sex life?" the doctor didn´t even look up from his computer screen.

"Excuse me?" Kagome could feel her cheeks burning at such an intimate question.

"Any STDs we should worry about?"

"N-no, nothing like that." She stuttered.

Dr. Renkotsu made eye contact with her at that point.

"Are you sexually active?"

"Er...well..." She hadn´t had any doctor ask her such intimate questions before. "Actually, I just started dating a guy. We haven´t engaged in any sexual activities yet..."

"But you are planning to, aren´t you?"

She just nodded her head in the affirmative.

"Are you using any contraceptive methods?"

"No... not yet."

The physician reached for a pad a wrote two prescriptions for her.

"OK, here you go. I´m giving you some vitamins and a prescription for a contraceptive injection, it will have you covered for three months. You can go back to Jakotsu for that. The vitamins you can purchase in any drugstore. Also, I´m referring you to an ob-gyn, You can ask Nanoka, our receptionist to help you get an appointment too."

The young woman was already getting up to leave when the doctor spoke again.

"Before you leave, the Ikeda Foundation is hosting a blood drive in a couple of weeks. After your blood tests, results are sent to your office, we´d like you to become a donor if you don´t mind."

"Sure, of course. I´d be happy to help."

"That would be all. Have a good day."

"Good morning Inuyasha. Is it just the two of us today?"

Miroku entered the office and plopped down the chair in front of Inuyasha´s desk, the hanyo didn´t look away from his laptop at the intrusion.

"Shippo won´t be long, I expect. And Kagome is getting her check-up. She will be late today"

"Great! We have time to catch up then. How is it that you suddenly decided to come back?" When you left you made it clear you´d be away until the end of this project."

Inuyasha finally looked up, a small smile suddenly appearing on his stern features

"Oh, I see." Miroku didn´t need much more information. He had seen the way Kagome and his boss were acting since Inuyasha came back. "Does our dear Kagome have anything to do with your good mood?"

"I´m not one to kiss and tell Roku."

"There´s no need to go into details, my friend. And since Sango probably knows already, can you confirm if you two are dating?"

Inuyasha lowered his head trying to hide a soft blush that was covering his cheeks.

"We are." He finally admitted.

"Wow, that´s huge. You finally came to your senses. What about the wicked witch of the west? Are you not afraid that she might unleash her flying monkeys on you two?"

Inuyasha couldn´t help to snigger at his friend's words.

"If you mean Kykio, you don´t need to worry about her. She´s so changed you wouldn´t even recognize her."

"Is she then?" Miroku didn´t trust the woman. The way she had dragged Inuyasha through hell the last couple of years, he would only be convinced of her change after he had seen it for himself. "Does this mean you are finally free?"

"I wouldn´t say that. I´m seeing someone, remember?"

"You dog!" Miroku teased him.

There you have it. Fuff won this time around. Don´t worry too much, I´m planning to go on full smut very soon.

Love,

ALP


End file.
